Gabby Collaboration Project, Season 2
by GabbCollab
Summary: A collaboration by many Gabby authors, tagging episodes in the second season of NCIS. Each of these tags is a 'first time' fic, and they don't follow on from each other. See author profile for details. Gibbs/Abby, completed.
1. Worth 3 McGees, See No Evil, Chirugal

**Title**: Worth Three McGees**  
>Author<strong>: Chirugal**  
>Rating<strong>: T**  
>Spoilers<strong>: _See No Evil_, season 2**  
>Summary<strong>: Gibbs and Abby are both affected by the Watson case, in different ways.

**Author's Note**: Following on from our season 1 fic, we're starting to go through season 2 in the same way! Every tag will be a beginning to the Gabby relationship - they don't follow on from each other. See our author profile for details! ~ Chirugal

* * *

><p>Sandy Watson was an amazing kid. Her knowledge of sound frequencies had blown Abby's mind – she knew, as the hearing child of deaf parents, that where one sense failed others made up for the deficit, but even so…<p>

She didn't understand how the girl's father had put her life – and her hearing – on the line, all for the sake of money. She just didn't get it.

After the case was over, she skipped out of work early and headed to the nearest bar, staring up at the wall of NCIS agents killed in the line of duty for a moment before approaching the bartender. "Hey, Pacci. We still miss you."

The photograph didn't respond, of course. But Abby didn't mind. She had faith that Chris Pacci, killed a few months back, knew she was thinking about him.

As she ordered a vodka Red Bull at the bar, her thoughts turned back to Sandy. Thank god she'd made it through okay. The image of the hired madman, as he'd held a screwdriver to the sobbing blind girl's ears, sent shivers down Abby's spine every time she thought about it.

_Total silence and darkness, forever._

Abby feared losing her senses more than anything. One was bad enough, but two? Who would _do that_ to a little kid?

By the time Gibbs walked into the bar, she was drunk.

He obviously hadn't expected to see her there, and she hadn't expected him to walk in, either. She'd resolved never to get drunk around him, in case something inappropriate – meaning, contradictory to his rule number twelve – slipped out. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to get up, make her excuses and leave.

"Hey, Gibbs. Buy you a drink?"

There were reservations in his expression, too, but he accepted with a nod, sliding into the seat beside her as she ordered a bourbon, straight up. What else would Gibbs be drinking, after all?

"You okay, Abbs?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're wasted."

She raised her glass in an ironic toast. "To your excellent powers of observation. Wanna join me?"

He smiled a little, though his heart wasn't in it, and clinked his glass against hers. "What's eating you?"

"I don't get how a father could put his amazing wife and kid through total hell, just for cash. I mean, she could have died. Or worse, lost her hearing. She's so talented, but he goes and does that. Why?"

Gibbs shook his head, taking a gulp of his own drink. "Don't know."

She was drunk, but not drunk enough not to notice the pain in his eyes. "What's eating _you_?"

"Same thing."

She didn't ask why; just leaned her head against his shoulder. He put his arm around her, his breath escaping in a sigh, and together, they finished their drinks in silence.

Gibbs ordered the next round, and they moved from their bar stools to a booth in the corner. Abby changed the subject, beginning to talk about McGee's instatement to his team, and how 'cool' it would be to have him around.

"Figured you could use the extra help as well as I could," he teased her gently, and she gasped indignation, her eyes flashing.

"Gibbs! Just because I couldn't hack the damn Pentagon on my own, that doesn't mean I'm incompetent when it comes to computer forensics! I mean, okay, McGee's really smart and he went to MIT and he's better trained at that stuff than I am, and has more experience, but-"

Gibbs didn't want to hear it. Bad enough that he'd witnessed their flirtation earlier on – he was more than aware that by hiring McGee as a field agent, he was giving him more access to Abby.

_Great. One minute you're mourning your dead wife and daughter, and the next you're getting jealous that Abby has feelings for McGee._

He knew it was illogical, but that didn't mean he could control it. Especially not with alcohol around. "Abby."

She stopped mid-sentence, looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"You're worth three McGees to me."

She visibly brightened, and leaned over the table to give him a hug. "Aww, Gibbs… the feeling is totally mutual."

Somehow, he doubted she'd still say that if she knew the truth. That her presence had distracted him from the ghosts of his past. That the memories of her face, her body, her voice, her smile were enough to get him hard when he was home alone at night.

There in the present moment, Abby went back to the bar to order more drinks, and he watched her pigtails – and hips – sway as she crossed the room. "Get a grip," he muttered to himself.

_Love to_, his mind responded instantly. _A grip on _her_._

By the end of drink number three, he knew he should get up and leave, for the sake of their professional relationship. He couldn't make himself move, however.

"Surprised you haven't asked about you and McGee and rule twelve yet," he said, against his better judgment. "Now that he's working from the Navy Yard, I mean."

He didn't even know how many drinks Abby had had, but her inebriation seemed to have plateaued. She gave him a blank look.

"Why would I? We haven't been together for months."

That was something he hadn't known, and despite himself, he felt his heart lighten. "Hmm. Coulda fooled me."

"Oh, please," Abby said, rolling her eyes. "He wanted to get all committed, and he's a great guy, but I can't get into a serious relationship when my heart belongs to…"

She trailed off, looking relieved that she'd managed to stop herself, and then finished softly, "Someone else."

"Lucky guy," Gibbs said, and meant it. Anyone who managed to win Abby's heart would be. And yeah, he was jealous, but what could he do?

Abby fidgeted, her eyes on the table top. "He doesn't think so."

_Then he's an idiot._ Gibbs washed down the words with more bourbon. "He say that to you?"

She shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. "He doesn't know. But I'm not his type."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Abby, you're smart, you're beautiful and you're a good person. You couldn't _not_ be his type."

She did look at him, then, seeming startled at the compliments he shouldn't have paid her. Then her lips curved in a wry smile. "For starters, I have the wrong hair colour."

The way she was looking at him – so vulnerable beneath the bravado, as if he held the power to shatter her very existence – made his instincts hum with realisation. The truth didn't dawn on him instantly, though, and he was too slow.

She jumped up from the table, gathering her things. "I think I've had a little too much to drink. I better get home. See you tomorrow, Gibbs."

By the time he got to his feet, she was out of reach, so he pursued her toward the door, catching her wrist and spinning her to face him. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and his need to reassure her outmatched everything else. Cupping her face in his hand, he leaned in and kissed her gently.

Abby's eyes widened, then fluttered closed, and she returned his kiss tentatively, her shoulder tense under his palm, as if she expected him to reconsider at any moment. Wanting nothing more than to chase away her doubts, he deepened the kiss, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

She melted against him, relaxing into the embrace, and her tongue brushed his for the first time, sending a jolt of desire through him. He broke off before his inebriated brain decided to take things further right there, right then, dimly aware of the smattering of applause and catcalls from some of the bar's patrons.

They weren't worth his time and attention, though. All his awareness was centred upon the promise in Abby's smile, and he returned it, tugging one of her pigtails gently. "Feel better now?"

"I'll feel better when we go somewhere private," she said, her voice low and seductive.

The part of his brain that fancied itself a gentleman protested. "Abbs, we're way too drunk for that now."

"You think you'll regret it when we sober up?" Her confidence was high, but still, there was a fragility to her question.

He shook his head. "Not a chance. But-"

Abby held up a hand to silence him. "Then I'm calling us a cab. That okay with you?"

It was more than just 'okay'. The gentleman within him retreated, overpowered by the lustful and longing and altogether drunk parts of his mind. He nodded, and Abby grinned, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. "Good. Discussion over."

How could he argue with that?

_END._


	2. The Good Wives Club, ncislove

**Title**: The Good Wife's Guide  
><strong>Author<strong>: ncislove  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: _The Good Wives' Club_, season 2  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Abby decides she'll never be a good wife.

* * *

><p>Abby flipped through the pages of the book as she sucked on a lollipop and shook her head. There was no way she would ever be anyone's ideal wife – not that she was interested in settling down in that way – but the hints and tips in the magazine made her skin crawl.<p>

"Whatcha readin'?"

Her lips curved into a smile around the stick of her lollipop. "The Good Wife's Guide."

"Learn anything useful?"

"Shoudn't I be asking _you_ if these are useful?"

Gibbs raised his hand as if he were going to slap the back of her head, but instead gave a little tug on her pigtails.

"What?" Abby feigned innocence. "You're the one that's been married three times. Did your ex-wives not live up to this standard?"

Gibbs pulled the book from her hands and flipped it open to a chapter about cleaning. "Scrubbing the bathroom floor with a toothbrush… that's what was missing."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Anyone suggests that I should do that… You don't want to see the outcome." Abby stood and began switching off machines for the night.

"I can imagine." Gibbs pulled her jacket off the hook and held it open for her. "Wanna grab a beer? Been a long case."

"Yeah, sounds good. Kate drive Tony home?"

"Nah, she had a date or something. Ducky took him home."

"Oooh, right." Abby smiled. Kate had told her about her date she had planned. She grabbed her purse and keys. "I'll meet you there."

Abby perched on the seat next to Gibbs and waved down the bartender for a drink. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"You drive slow"

"Hey! I drive within the speed limit," Abby protested and then gave the bartended a warm smile when he pushed a cold beer toward her. "What a case…. Poor Petty Officer Swain. Think she'll recover?"

Gibbs nodded. "She'll need some help, but I think she'll be alright. Why're you so caught up with this one?"

"I don't know, the good wife's guide – it's fascinating, if not sick. This guide wants women to be perfect and… just… boring. Do you really want to come home to someone who thinks it's their only duty to please you? I mean, I want to please the man I'm with, but as my only duty? Sorry, but I'd like a life."

"You realize that this was written back in the 1950's and that even during that time it was a bit of a stretch."

"I know, it just bothers me. Women's rights have come so far, but still, we make less and we're less respected. I took my car in for service and they tried to over-charge me!"

Gibbs smiled and took a sip of his beer. "Bet they won't try that again."

Abby grinned happily. "I almost can't wait to take my car back."

As one beer turned into two, then three and then four, the distance between them shrank considerably, and Abby leaned into Gibbs.

"So tell me, are _any_ of the tips in that guide true?"

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head. "Didn't read it."

"Oh."

"You'll make some guy very lucky someday, don't worry about a stupid guide."

"Me? Nah, I mean, I want someone to love me, but I'm not cut out for the picket fence and the two-point-five kids and a dog. And I certainly couldn't follow that guide." Abby shrugged, "well, the dog part, maybe."

"You could have any man you want, Abbs. You don't need a wife's guide."

"Any man I want?" Abby giggled, the beer putting her at ease. "Think I could get the bartender to take me home?"

Gibbs' hand tightened around his beer bottle as he kept his gaze directed forward. "I'm sure all you'd have to do is ask."

Abby smiled smugly and elbowed Gibbs gently. "Maybe I'll ask!" Abby lifted her hand to get the bartenders attention, and gasped when Gibbs pushed her hand back down on the bar top. "Gibbs!"

"You sure you want _him_ to take you home?"

"Jealous?"

"I asked you a question, Abby."

"Well you certainly haven't offered to take me home, so maybe I've got to ask around." Abby pulled her hand out from under his and turned back toward the bartender.

"Come home with me." His voice was low and rough and had a hint of something else. "We'll sleep this," he pointed to the empty beer bottles, "off. Then, we'll have breakfast together and figure things out."

Abby was already off the barstool by the time he was done talking, her hand finding his. "I'm not sleeping in the guest room and you're not sleeping on the couch." She tossed some cash on the bar. "And really, I'm not drunk enough that we can't just figure things out on the cab ride back to your place."

"Abbs." Gibbs followed along behind, unwilling to let his nerves get to him. They'd been working together long enough for him to be certain how he felt about her, but he needed to be certain about her feelings about all of this.

"I mean, I guess I can wait until tomorrow, but… you'll at least kiss me tonight, right? I've been waiting a long time for you to want me, and I just don't know if I can-"

Gibbs kissed her. She didn't have to wait.

_END._


	3. Vanished, miss4nschik

**Title**: Vanished**  
>Author<strong>: miss4nschik**  
>Rating<strong>: PG-13**  
>Spoilers<strong>: _Vanished_, season 2**  
>Summary<strong>: Post-case, Abby waits for Gibbs, intent on asking him something…

* * *

><p>Back on the third floor again. She peeks out from elevator, trying to see if Gibbs is still at his desk.<p>

He is.

She frowns, looking at her watch. She's already been waiting in the elevator for... well, 6 turns up and down. Isn't he gonna leave soon? Tony, Kate and McGee left what seems like ages ago...

Some other agents step into the elevator so she backs into what is now her corner again. Someone asks her if she's going down. "Guess so..." she sighs.

Going down for the fourth time...

And then up once more. The doors open and she looks over at Gibbs' desk again.

But he's not there and the light is now turned off. She can't believe it.

"What?" she calls out and hurries towards his desk. "Where did he go? Don't tell me he took the stairs!" She sighs deeply and leans against the desk, a feeling of being defeated washing over her.

"Damn," she hisses.

"Gibbs? Nah. He's not gone." The voice of the janitor suddenly breaks the silence from the far end wall. She hadn't even noticed him where he was standing on a ladder, changing a broken light bulb. "He's in Interrogation 1."

"Why?" The question is rhetorical so she doesn't stop to see if the janitor even knows, shouting a "thanks!" over her shoulder as she goes to check if the man she's looking for actually is in that room which just so happens to be the inspiration for the question burning in her mind.

She opens the door into the observation room. It's empty. But she can see him through the glass.

He's sitting on the table, drinking what she assumes is coffee from a paper cup. The only light in the room is coming from the open door.

Slowly she moves up to the mirror. He can't see her, can he? He doesn't act like he's seen her anyway. She makes a short wave. He doesn't move. He could just be ignoring her, but why would he? She comes to stand right in front of him.

It's fascinating. To watch Gibbs like he'd be a tiger at the zoo. She smiles at the thought. Gibbs would definitely be a tiger or a lion.

He suddenly stands up and comes closer to the mirror. His fast movement startles her so she takes a step back to keep some distance. Then upon remembering that there's a mirror between them and he can't even see her, she steps forward again. Standing completely still, just observing for a moment.

Knowing that he can't see her makes her bolder so she gets as close as possible, her nose almost touching the glass. She looks straight into his eyes, which are dark in the bad lighting. Her gaze slowly travels all over him, taking the opportunity to really check him out...

Her heart begins to beat faster as he leans closer to the mirror as well. She swallows hard, just thinking about how this would be without this barrier of glass between them. Without thinking, her hand comes up to touch the glass, imagining touching those lips...

Hm... Maybe she could just... No. That would be silly. But on the other hand, why not?

She quickly presses her lips against the glass. Feeling ever so silly she smiles as she sees the SWAK on the glass. She takes a small step back, grinning widely at the view of her dark lipstick perfectly covering his mouth.

Knowing that she can't leave that SWAK on the glass, even if she would like to, she reaches into her bag for a tissue or anything. And she can't find anything useful. Crap.

She looks around the room, maybe there's a paper somewhere. Nope.  
>And Gibbs is now gone from the interrogation room. Double crap.<p>

She can't let him get away now! She turns around to leave and yelps because, yes, there he is. Standing there, right in front of her.

"You gonna leave that there, Abs?" he asks, locking his gaze into hers. She bites her bottom lip. She can't move. Caught like a deer in the headlight. Wondering just how much he knows...

"No. I mean, yes. Ehum, I mean, that's not mine!" she quickly answers. He comes closer and takes a look at the lipstick on the glass. As soon as his eyes meet hers again she feels her defence crumble to pieces. She never was a good liar. And lying to Gibbs, well, that was impossible.

"Okay. I was going to wipe it off but I didn't have any tissues... but it's not what you think, Gibbs. I was-"

"I saw you." His gaze focuses on her lips again.

"What? How?" She's so surprised that she doesn't even have time to feel embarrassed or nervous any more.

"You left the door open behind you." He waved his hand at the doorway behind him.

"Oh. But you've got the mirror-" She hadn't thought about it before but now she realizes that both rooms are lit up in the same way, basking in the light from the corridor.

"I saw you perfectly well the whole time." She doesn't know what to say. A red blush quickly colours her cheeks. Should she be sorry? She doesn't know what to think really. His voice is calm and gentle, as always, she can't read what he's thinking about the situation at all.

"Why were you waiting for me tonight, Abs?"

If she's really gonna ask him the question she's got on her mind, then she's got to pull up some strength. The question has gotten far more charged now though and can no longer be asked in a joking manner... "I just wanted to know if something I heard about you was actually true..."

"Okay. But first I got a question for you: What did you say to McGee?"

"What?" When did she say what to McGee?

"To manipulate him into collecting all those samples from the crop circle."

Oh that. "I just said I'd show him my new tat..." She smiles, feeling more relaxed by the second.

"The one on you ankle?" he asks and she nods. "Good," he says with a smirk, "Me, I'd rather see that other one..."

He pulls her into his arms and slowly runs his hand down her spine. With his mouth close to her ear, he speaks in a low voice, causing shivers to run through her. "The cross."

She feels his lips graze against her neck, making it very hard to speak. Typical Gibbs to make her head spin but stay focused himself. Her voice just a bit louder than a whisper when she tells him,"That probably could be arranged... Depending on what your answer to my question is..."

"Ask me," he tells her, facing her again.

She takes a breath. "I've heard that you enjoy interrogation more than sex... That true?"

He looks at her, seemingly taken by surprise. He had to admit that he had heard plenty of things about himself during the years but this was a new one.

Being the man of action and not words that he is, he kisses her.

Her eyes directly fall shut by their own will, her brain stops working and her body just responds to his, pressing as close as possible. Their tongues duel, her hands reaches up to grasp at his short hair, whilst his rest on her lower back.

He breaks contact before they risk losing control of themselves. She slowly forces her eyes open to meet his again. Searching his eyes for any hint of regret, happy not to see any. She smiles at him and he smiles back. Oh, that smile could make her melt anytime.

"How about you come home with me and find out."

It takes her a moment to fully understand what he's just said.

_How about you come home with me and find out_, runs through her head one more time.

And now her brain finally manages to not only understand the question but to form an answer as well:

"Oh my god - Yes!"

_END._


	4. Three Bs, Lt Jane Doe, gosgirl

**Title**: Three Bs.  
><strong>Rating<strong>: T  
><strong>Author<strong>: Gosgirl  
><strong>Spoiler<strong>: _Lt. Jane Doe_, season 2  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Post-episode for _Lt Jane Doe_.

**A/N**: Written for the Gabby Collaboration Project on the Gibbs/Abby Shipper Forum.

* * *

><p>Ducky walked through the quiet roads of the cemetery heading back to his car, enjoying the solitude.<p>

After delivering the remains of Lt. Jane Doe for internment, he'd experienced a degree of satisfaction that at least now they knew who'd murdered the young girl. But it still felt like only half the story. They were no nearer finding out who she was, and that would continue to haunt him.

In the same way he'd kept her close to him these past ten years, he foresaw regular visits here to the cemetery; if for no other reason than to remind himself of all the unsolved cases, of all the ones they couldn't save or couldn't identify.

As he neared his Morgan, Ducky saw one of the NCIS sedans parked behind it and two familiar tall figures leaning against it, standing shoulder to shoulder. Even if he couldn't have guessed who'd be waiting for him, the black parasol held over a dark head and the silver hair of the other figure would have clued him into the presence of Abby and Gibbs.

He shook his head, smiling fondly. Jethro was being his usual over-protective self and Abby was always caring and thoughtful. It wasn't a surprise therefore that they'd banded together to check up on him.

Ducky always thought these two were so attuned to each other, that they only looked complete when they were standing together. Even when they might have been seeing other people, it didn't seem to diminish their connection.

Ducky had felt sorry for McGee these past few months. He knew the young man was infatuated with Abby, but she didn't look at Tim in the same way Ducky had seen her look at Jethro. The crackle in the air when they were in the same room was electric, but Ducky had long ago given up wondering whether they'd ever get round to dealing with it.

"Hey, Duck, you okay?" Gibbs had his collar turned up against the autumn chill and was typically standing between the cool wind and Abby, always unconsciously protecting her. Ducky wasn't even sure Gibbs was aware that he was doing it.

"Yes, Jethro, I'm fine." Ducky tried to sound reassuring, but knew his tiredness would show in his voice. "Perhaps her spirit can rest in peace now. Either way, I think she belongs here and not on a shelf in my autopsy."

"You can still come and see her though, Ducky." Abby folded her parasol as she came up to him, kissing his cheek and looping her arm through his.

"Yes, Abby, I can and I will." He smiled and patted her hand where it rested on his arm. "What are you two doing here, as if I didn't know."

Gibbs shrugged. "Came to see if you were okay, if you wanted company."

"Do you want to have dinner, Ducky?" asked Abby, concern colouring her voice. "I could cook for the three of us, if you like? We haven't had dinner all together, just the three of us, for a while."

"Oh, thank you, my friends." Ducky reached out and pulled Abby into a hug, touched by her thoughtfulness. "I'm tempted but no, perhaps not tonight." He went on before either of them could protest. "Not that I don't love your cooking, Abby, you know I do, but I think I want to go home and spend a quiet evening on my own. We could all have dinner this weekend instead, you could both come over to me as mother is away."

Abby smiled. "I'd like that, Ducky, you've got a date."

"Besides, you've both looked after me enough these past few days, keeping me occupied."

Abby exchanged a rueful glance with Gibbs, neither surprised that Ducky had seen right through their attempts to keep his mind from brooding on the case. "It was hardly a chore, Ducky."

"And don't think I don't appreciate it, Abby, but I'd quite like to be alone tonight."

Hugging them both goodbye before he could be persuaded otherwise, Ducky got into his car, waving as he drove off. Abby returned to lean against Gibbs' car, standing next to him.

"I worry about him, Gibbs. Will he be okay?" she asked quietly after a few moments, glancing at him.

"Yeah, he'll be fine, he's tough." He reached out an arm to draw her into his side. "He just needs time to accept we may never know who Lt. Jane Doe was."

"But at least we know who killed her," Abby leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Yeah, that'll help." Gibbs resisted the temptation to bury his nose in her silky hair, her nearness having its usual effect on him. They stood in comfortable silence for a while before Abby broke it.

"That offer of cooking is still open, Gibbs. You hungry?"

"For your cooking, always Abbs." They hadn't spent much time together outside work lately, for various reasons and he'd missed her company. "My place?"

Abby raised her head and gave him a wide smile. "You're on. I'll cook, you wash up."

"Okay. Boat and bourbon after?" His eyes were drawn to the spider web tattoo on her neck, trying to quell his usual urge to brush his lips along every line.

"Won't the boat be a trifle chewy for dessert?" She grinned as he rolled his eyes at her. "I'd settle for ice cream and bourbon, plus boat."

"Deal." Gibbs hesitated, not sure he wanted the answer to his next question but needing to know. "Unless Special Agent Goodwrench objects?"

Gibbs recalled the surge of possessive anger that had swept through him as he'd walked into Abby's lab to see McGee on the floor with his head under her desk. The sense of jealousy he felt over her relationship with McGee hadn't diminished over the past few months since he'd suspected they'd first got together.

"It's nothing to do with Special Agent Goodwrench. It's you I'm asking, not him." Abby looked at him, curiously. He saw her eyes widen as she reacted to something in his expression. He must have been too slow to hide behind his usual mask.

"Not even to rewire your hotbox again?" He couldn't help teasing, even though he wasn't sure he'd like the answer.

He recalled McGee's stumbling explanation of a hotbox, and how the young agent had been seemingly oblivious to the double meaning in his words. The smile curving Abby's lips at the time showed that she was taking the description of 'waves of rhythmic pulses' in exactly the same way Gibbs was.

"He hasn't been... rewiring my hotbox for a while now." Abby chose to continue the suggestive analogy, intrigued to see how far he'd take it. She saw the teasing glint in his eye but thought she could also see a vulnerability there as well that he didn't often show.

The atmosphere was becoming charged, she'd have to be blind not to sense it.

"No?" he asked, feeling a sense of relief wash over him... assuming he was reading her meaning correctly.

Abby shook her head, shifting subtly closer, unable to look away from his intense gaze and the hunger she thought she could see there. "No. Not for some time now. We broke up a while back. He wanted commitment... I didn't want that, at least not with him." Her voice sounded hesitant, as if she was feeling her way, not sure how Gibbs would react. "We're still working out how to still be friends but I think we'll be okay. It wasn't fair to keep using him as a distraction."

"Distraction from what?" Gibbs found himself holding his breath, wanting to believe what he could see in her eyes.

"From wanting something... someone I thought I could never have." She glanced down, hesitating before continuing. "Someone who was pulling away... not only from me but from everyone, shutting all his friends out."

His obsession with Ari Haswari had left many scars, damaged a lot of relationships; at one point Gibbs wasn't sure if everyone would understand, let alone forgive him for his behaviour. But even in the fog of not being able to see further than the hunt for the terrorist, he'd seen Abby slipping away from him, drifting closer to McGee.

Gibbs reached down to tilt her chin up, to see her eyes, feeling the hitch in her breathing at the contact. "Perhaps he regrets that now?"

Abby nuzzled into his hand, a smile curving her lips, her voice sounding hopeful. "I think... I hope he might be, coz he's not shutting me out any more. Maybe he's letting his... obsession go, maybe he's seeing us all again... seeing me again."

"Oh, he can see you, Abbs."

And he could... and he was so tired of holding back.

"Just didn't think you could see him... or that you wanted him." He was mesmerised by the lovely curve of her cheek, soft porcelain skin and strong jawline.

His stomach flipped over at her next words.

"Oh, I've always wanted him... no one else has ever compared with him, and it's not fair on Timmy to use him as second best." Abby reached up with shaky fingers to run her hand along his jaw, seeing the desire she felt reflected right back at her... although something still held her back, something she needed to know. "Although isn't it about time for a certain redhead in a Porsche to come and pick him up?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope, not any more." That long term relationship was another casualty of his obsession with Ari.

"Then...?" Abby asked, hesitatingly, pulse pounding. She still couldn't quite believe that everything she wanted seemed suddenly within her grasp... or more precisely, standing right beside her.

"C'mere." His voice was low and full of promise.

Curling his hands around her hips, Gibbs pulled her flush against his body, lowering his head to kiss her, starting slow and soft. She responded instantly, opening her mouth as his tongue swept across her lips.

He felt his body responding as the kiss deepened and tried to rein himself in, or he'd end up spreading her out on the hood of his car and taking her right now, regardless of where they were.

When they broke for air, Gibbs pulled her inside the warmth of his coat, wrapping his arms and coat flaps round her, feeling a sense of contentment he hadn't felt in months. Abby snuggled into him willingly, nuzzling his neck and breathing in his distinctive scent. "Does that mean there might be a third B on offer tonight, as well as boat and bourbon? As in your bed?"

"Count on it," he promised. "I'm gonna take you to bed until we both can't move."

The suggestive smile Abby bestowed on him mirrored those she'd given him so often in the past; the one that always made him want to kiss her senseless... except this time he could.

And he did.

_END._


	5. Realisation, The Bone Yard, bluefirebird

**Title**: Realisation  
><strong>Author<strong>: bluefirebird  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: _The Bone Yard_  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Post-ep. Gibbs' behaviour frightens Abby.

Abby wasn't surprised to find Gibbs still at his desk, but she was a little surprised to find that the others had all gone home – she looked at her watch – a little early even. Gibbs didn't look up as she approached his desk, but he wasn't working. In fact he was sitting with his head cocked slightly to one side staring sightlessly at McGee's desk across the aisle in front of him. Unusually for Gibbs he made no acknowledgement as she drew close even though the buckles on her chunky boots made a silent approach impossible - until she stood slightly to one side of where he was looking and shyly waved a hand up and down in his line of sight.

Gibbs came back to himself and focused on Abby with one of those small but genuine smiles that made her weak at the knees, so that she _almost_ forgot why she'd come to see him.

"I hear reports of Fornell's death have been greatly exaggerated."

"Yeah," he replied evenly, moving things around on his desk, "There's no way he'd go like that, he's got too much to live for."

His comment annoyed her, this was what she wanted to talk to him about, he'd frightened her yet again by going off without any of the team as backup.

"What about you? I also hear that you went to meet a mobster with no backup. That could have been a different form of suicide. Haven't _you_ got too much to live for as well?"

He turned his gaze back up to her, slightly narrowed eyes assessing, but didn't say anything, waiting for her inevitable continuation.

"This team needs you, Gibbs." _I need you._

"What would we do without you?" _What would I do without you_?

"You're, not just our leader. You're, you're..."

For once she was lost for words, unable to say what she really wanted to for fear of saying too much, she had to settle for 'we' instead of 'I' and even to her ears that sounded weak compared with what she wanted to communicate to him. She wanted him to know how much he meant to her, what his presence did to her, but there was no way she could say the words out loud. She screwed her eyes closed briefly in frustration and when she opened them again she was looking at his empty chair.

For a second she was disorientated - where had he gone? - then there was warm breath right by her right ear and warm hands gently squeezing her shoulders, and wonderful tingles down her spine at his touch.

"Abs, calm down," he breathed gently in her ear, calming her in one sense and firing her up in a completely different one. "I'm an investigator..." as if that explained everything. He ran his hands down her arms and when they reached elbow level pulled her back against his body, reading how she first tensed, then shivered under his touch and finally melted toward him.

"Looks like I might have been overlooking one or two things. Reckon I've got plenty to live for too. C'mon"

He moved to one side, taking her hand in his as he started toward the elevator, lacing their fingers together and pulling her gently along with him.


	6. Abby's Hero, Terminal Leave, Jo R

Title: Abby's Hero  
>Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)<br>Rating: FR-13 at highest.  
>Pairing: AbbyGibbs  
>Spoilers: Terminal Leave (season 2)<br>Summary: Post-ep. Abby's hero pays her a visit.  
>Authors Note: This was going to be completely fluffy, as befitting of the lovely Gabby moments we had in this episode. I have no idea what happened to it but I hope it's okay, anyway.<p>

* * *

><p><em>'A Case Study: Digital Optical Enhancement of Reflective Surfaces with Scattered Refractive Properties.'<em>

She hadn't been lying when she said she'd write a paper on the subject. Gibbs wandered down to the lab after noticing Abby hadn't yet left and found her sitting at her desk, her fingers flying over the keys of the keyboard as she typed not her report like he'd been expecting but the paper she'd mentioned in passing.

The paper he'd said sounded like a bestseller, and while he'd been exaggerating, he had no doubts it would someday end up being published alongside so many others the NCIS Forensic Specialist had written. Papers he would never admit to having read, the copies of the magazines and journals they were published away hidden in his house. He couldn't always fully understand what he read but, because she'd written it, because he was proud of her, he read them all anyway.

He stood in the doorway, observing unnoticed for a while. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, her hair still in pigtails but the strands looked mused, as though she'd ran her fingers through the ends a little too often. Gibbs let a small smile flitter across his face as she lifted one hand from the keyboard, as if reading his thoughts, running her fingers thoughtfully through the ends of her hair as she paused in her typing.

His own fingers itched to do the same thing, to remove the bands keeping her hair in bunches and feel its silken weight in his hands. He bit back a sigh, shaking himself mentally. It wasn't something he'd ever do, though. Wasn't something he'd allow himself to do. Abby, he'd decided a long time ago, deserved someone who could give her far more than he could.

Someone who didn't have as many scars, both physically and emotionally. Someone who wasn't afraid to put the past behind him and take a risk on starting again.

Regretting his decision to wander down to the labs, Gibbs turned silently and started back through the main room of the lab towards the elevators. He didn't get very far before he heard her voice, sweet and husky with just a hint of the Southern drawl he'd grown fond of over the years they'd known one another.

"Leaving so soon, my hero?"

And that was the other thing that had kept him from going home when he'd dismissed his agents, Gibbs recalled as he turned to face her. He remembered their telephone conversation, remembered the jolt he'd felt when she'd called him her hero. With anyone else, he'd have been able to dismiss it as a turn of phrase, a joke maybe, but with Abby, knowing her the way he did...

It was one of the things he felt guilty about, a kind of expectation he didn't think he could live up to. If she really knew him, if he let her in on all of his secrets, would she still look at him with a sort of quasi-hero worship in her eyes? Would she still love him...?

And she did love him. Gibbs caught a glimpse of it on her face as he looked at her. It took her a few seconds too long to hide how she felt, to keep it from showing in those expressive green eyes of hers.

"Did you want something?" Abby asked after the silence between them stretched on a little too long.

The answer was an undeniable yes but Gibbs kept himself from saying so. He continued to stare at her, his gaze so intense she broke eye contact after a while, a dash of colour in her otherwise pale cheeks.

"I sent my report up about an hour ago," Abby continued, turning away and walking back to her desk as casually as she could manage. "You'd know that if you checked your email once in a while," she added, shooting him a teasing smile over her shoulder. "Got a hard copy all printed out for you, though. Somewhere around here..."

As she started looking through the pieces of paper on her desk – notes, he suspected, she'd jotted down at various moments throughout the day for the paper she was planning to write, Gibbs approached her silently. He hesitated for a just a moment before wrapping his arms around her from behind, stilling her movements. He heard her quick intake of breath as her hands stilled.

"Your hero, Abs?" He asked quietly, his voice a low murmur. He felt a shiver she couldn't suppress go through her and allowed himself a small grin of satisfaction.

She shrugged a shoulder and lifted one hand to tentatively cover his where they'd come to rest against her stomach. "It's true. You are my hero."

His sigh was heavy and he started to let his arms fall away, only to find she kept them around her by covering his clasped hands. "I'm not hero material, Abby."

"You catch the bad guys and you save people, and for the ones you can't save, you get justice for them. That's pretty heroic to me."

The way she said it almost had him believing her. It sounded so simple coming from her lips, so black and white. There was no doubt in his mind that she believed what she was saying, and the utter faith she had in him was both flattering and terrifying.

As Gibbs considered her words, Abby took advantage of his distracted state to turn around to face him. Still enclosed in the circle of his arms, she studied him thoughtfully, her brow furrowing at the almost troubled look on his face.

The case was over and the result, she'd thought, had been pretty good. A terrorist cell had been stopped and a jealous-lover-turned-attempted-murderer had been stopped. The Shields family had a lot of healing to do but they had a lifetime in which to do it, the threat – both of them - to Lt. Commander Shields having been eliminated.

It was a second chance, Abby thought, which was more than most people got.

She watched the emotions flicker across Gibbs' face, her breath catching in her throat at the glimmer of longing in his eyes before it faded, giving way to something a lot less desirable. Taking a deep breath to gather her nerves, she covered the distance between them before he came back to himself and realised what she intended to do.

Second chances didn't come around often, she decided, and she wasn't prepared to miss the one that had presented itself to her there and then.

The brush of her lips against his was tentative at first, hesitant. When he failed to respond, Abby felt her cheeks flood with heated humiliation and started to pull back, her mind working a mile a minute to come up with some kind of explanation for the kiss, some kind of joke that would ease the awkwardness at having her advances rebuked...

... Her thought process slowed, then stopped altogether when one of his hands left the small of her back to rest at the back of her head, drawing her back so he could kiss her again.

Gibbs was kissing her.

_Gibbs_. Was kissing. _Her_.

After several moments, too soon for them both, they broke apart and looked at each other. Abby gave him a bright smile he found infectious, a small grin curling the corners of his mouth as he took in her flushed cheeks, slightly swollen lips and the dazed, almost dreamy expression on her face.

"Think you can pull yourself away from your paper to go home?"

"That depends." Pretending to consider his question, Abby arched an eyebrow. "Would I be going to my home or yours?"

"Mine," Gibbs said after a small pause. "It's closer."

A delighted expression lit up her face and she leaned in to steal another kiss, her eyes sparkling with the knowledge that she could. "You really are my hero, Gibbs," she murmured against his lips, her arms lingering around his neck. "Even if you don't think you should be, you are."

Gibbs smiled, not at her words but at the confidence with which she said them. He made a promise to himself there and then that he'd do whatever he had to do to keep from letting her down. He watched her make short work of packing away her belongings and took the hand she reached out to him, leading her from the lab and towards a new beginning for them both.


	7. Call of Silence, jennifer6973

**Title**: Call of Silence**  
>Author<strong>: jennifer6973**  
>Rating<strong>: **G  
>Spoilers<strong>: _Call of Silence_, season 2**  
>Summary<strong>: Post-case, Abby visits Gibbs' place…

* * *

><p>He walked into silent house, but he knew she was there. He could smell her and he had asked her to come by to talk. He was coming home from having a drink with Cpl Ernie Yost. He had just walked the man through what had happened in WWII with his best friend, who he thought he had intentionally killed. That had not been the case, much to the relief of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his team, his forensic scientist Abby Scuito and the JAG lawyer Faith Coleman.<p>

He had last seen Abby in her lab when she turned the gun back over to Cpl Yost, since it was no longer evidence. He asked her to come over and to let herself in. So he walked further into his house and stood at the entrance to his living room. She was on the couch, reading one of his books, in the dark. He'd have to talk to her about it, because that could hurt her eyes.

She looked beautiful sitting there, of course she looked beautiful doing anything. He wanted to tell her that, maybe ask her out. He had wanted to do that for a while and now he was going to. He'd known the forensic scientist for about 5 years, but there had never been a good time to start anything. He worked different operations and was never at NCIS headquarters for more then maybe a month at a time. There was the Paris op where he got involved with Jenny, then the Moscow transfer after he married Stephanie. He seemed to gravitate towards red heads. His first wife was a red head. But she was murdered along with their daughter by a Mexican drug lord. He'd tell her about that one day, just not today. But the dark haired, tattooed forensic scientist always intrigued him. She was always ready to give him a hug or an ear to listen to, not that he talked much, but he appreciated it.

He loved her spider web tattoo, knew she had more he couldn't see, but wanted to find. Finding them would be so much fun. He would do that later, he wanted to talk tonight.

She finally noticed him standing there and walked over to him.

"So, Gibbs, what did you want to talk about?"

"This"

and with that he kissed her.

They would talk later, he was sure of it, but right now kissing felt right.

_END._


	8. Heart Break, ReplicantAngel

**Title: **Homecoming

**Author: **ReplicantAngel

**Rating:** PG, at most

**Spoilers: **_Heart Break_, season 2

**Summary:** The conversation takes a serious turn after a rough case.

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay!

* * *

><p>Abby rubbed at her arms as Gibbs worked on the Challenger. "You can go inside, Abbs," he said, eyeing the goosebumps that covered her limbs. "Or, y'know, wear more clothes."<p>

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he almost cut out his tongue right there for even suggesting such a thing. "There's a coat just inside the door," he added with what he hoped was a casual shrug. Her expression brightened at that, and in another minute, she'd reappeared wearing his brown, shearling coat. Despite her height, it hung below her hips, leaving only a sliver of plaid skirt visible. "Better?"

"Much," she said, burrowing into the thick coat and putting her nose against the soft collar.

Her nose was probably just cold, he reasoned, but the idea that she was happily breathing in the scent of sawdust made _him_ feel warmer. He smiled as her hair began to gather a static charge. "Trying to spontaneously combust yourself, Abbs?" he asked, reaching over to smooth one pigtail.

She ran her hand over the other. "Don't tease, Gibbs. I'm so disappointed that it wasn't SHC. I mean, I wouldn't never wish for someone to _die_, but there are so many that don't believe in it. I was really hoping to be the one to prove it exists, once and for all."

"Can't have everything," he said. He held out his hand, and she put the correct socket wrench into it without missing a beat.

"Guess not," she replied with a sigh.

He glanced at her. "You okay?"

She blinked, her pensive expression turning to a small smile. "Yeah, of course. Just a bit worried about Kate. And Tony and Ducky, for that matter. A suicide by cop and two failed romances in one case is a record, even for us."

"They'll be fine," he replied.

Abby nodded. "I know. It's just that it's not very encouraging, is it? No one has anyone to go home to these days."

"You're always welcome here, Abbs."

Her green eyes shifted away. "That's not exactly what I meant, Gibbs." She laughed softly. "But it's not a total loss. Ducky is available."

Considering how carefully his reflexes had been honed over the years, he still came dangerously close to whanging his head against the hood of the Challenger. He took a deep breath and leaned around to catch her gaze. "Ducky? Isn't he..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"You told Kate that he was older, not dead, just yesterday," she said, wagging her finger at him. "Age wouldn't stop me."

"So when's the big date?"

"Gibbs," she said in that affectionately exasperated tone he heard so often in the lab. "Ducky and I would be as much of a disaster as it was with McGee."

He nodded, knowing it to be true. He'd never mentioned Rule Twelve to them because of it, although there had been a few moments where he'd come close. But letting the relationship run its course seemed like the far wiser option than making the new and skittish McGee aware that the rule applied to Abby. _Especially_ to Abby.

"I wish it were the opposite," she continued a moment later. "I wish I could have _nice_ relationships with _nice_ guys."

"Nothing's stopping you," he said.

"I am," she replied. "I'm stopping me. Every time I try, I mess it up. I get bored. Or scared of the white picket fence future the nice sorts of guys plan out for us. Every time I date the guys that don't want two-point-five kids either, it's not boring, but in ways that make me wish it was."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Her cheeks flushed red for a moment. "You don't have to take a baseball bat to anyone's kneecaps, Gibbs. I just wish that I'd remember the reason bad boys are called that, because they're definitely not good for my sanity. Either way really. Some drive me nuts with how sweet they are, and some drive me nuts with how nuts they are."

His blood cooled a fraction. "You'll figure it out, Abbs."

"And if I already have?" She sighed, her eyes fixed on the ground. "That's probably the worst part - figuring out what could possibly make me happy and not being able to get it. Although I guess wanting someone that doesn't want you is the sign of whole _host_ of other problems."

"Anyone that doesn't want you is an idiot," he murmured.

The corner of her mouth lifted. "Thanks, Gibbs. I didn't mean to unload my personal issues on you. I know it's not really your thing."

He watched her face for a long moment, wanting to tell her that _everything_ about her mattered to him. But as usual, he couldn't speak the words. Instead, he turned back to his engine, leaning over it to finish replacing the spark plug.

"I should go," she said, straightening up.

"Thought you were staying for dinner," he said with a slight frown.

She shook her head. "I should go back to the lab and finish some tests. Another time."

He nodded, giving the impression that he accepted her half-truth. "Sure, Abbs. Whenever you want."

* * *

><p>Three hours later, he hesitated at the door of Abby's office. As expected, she had fallen asleep on her cot rather than going back to her place. The scent of the food he carried hadn't woken her up yet, and he took a moment to wonder if this was <em>really<em> the right thing to do. It was a chance he'd avoided taking hold of for eleven years. Still, he had the space to backtrack if she wanted him to - he could just be bringing dinner to an overworked friend.

"Abby."

She woke, and there was something in her sleepy, unguarded expression that strengthened his resolve. "Gibbs, what're you doing here?"

He held up two bags of Chinese take-out and walked over to the table in the middle of the room. "You should eat something."

"I'm fine," she said, as she got to her feet and moved towards him.

"If you're doing alright, I can always just eat all this on my..."

She plucked a carton of beef and broccoli from his hand. "Thanks, Gibbs."

"You should go home once in awhile," he said as he pulled up a stool beside her and they began to eat.

"I do," she argued. "It's just that there's not much going on at home, while there's always something to do here. You know that NCIS is my second home."

"And since my team is here a lot, you do have someone to come home to?"

Abby shook her head. "That's not..."

"What you meant," he finished. "I remember. Still think you're coming home to someone."

"Gibbs."

He continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Maybe I am too," he said, watching her eyes go wide. "I don't think having dinner on your birthday and a few other times a year is enough for me, Abbs."

She recovered impressively fast. "Really," she said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "How often is 'enough', then?"

He shrugged. "We have four years to make up for."

Abby stood up, her arms immediately circling his shoulders. "You know, this is what I meant before, about picking guys that drive me nuts. I never thought you'd say anything. Or even if you had anything to say in the first place."

"I'm not a nice guy, Abbs," he said. "Not a bad boy type either."

She laughed. "Yes, you are. You're both of those things. Just what I wanted. What took you so long?" She answered her own question as she pressed herself closer. "I guess these things take time. Especially _this_ and with two people like us."

He nodded. He'd known from the moment they first met, when she gave him that first smile, that this was inevitable. But it never would have happened without every moment that had come in between. It had been a long four years though.

"So, now that you have me, what's the plan? Which side do I get to see first? Bad boy or nice guy?" she asked, grinning and running her fingers under the collar of his shirt. "Have any preference?"

"I think I do," he replied, smiling as she kissed him.


	9. Secrets, Forced Entry, bbfan

**TITLE**: Secrets  
><strong>AUTHOR<strong>: bbfan**  
>RATING<strong>: K+**  
>SPOILERS<strong>: Season 2 Episode 9 - _Forced Entry_  
><strong>SUMMARY<strong>: Gibbs and Abby act upon their feelings. Written for the GabbCollab Season 2.  
><strong>WARNINGS<strong>: Sexual Implications, Language

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**: Sorry about the lateness! Not beta'd. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p>Gibbs turned off his desk lamp and stood to leave. All he wanted to do was go home, work on his boat, drink his fill of bourbon and forget about websites, computers, Abby's sexy profile picture and the fact that she used his last name, unbeknownst to him, as her alias while working under cover at the Scarlet Secrets Website.<p>

Shaking his head, swearing to himself not to give it another thought, he walked past his agents, barking out his instructions.

"Start your reports. Work for an hour and then go."

As he made his way home he berated himself as his thoughts strayed toward Abby and her actions today. It wasn't but a half hour ago he swore to himself that he wasn't going to give it another thought and yet here he was thinking about her. He just couldn't help himself. The profile picture was so damn hot. Her bedroom eyes bored into him, heating him up and sending his blood south. When he heard Devin call her by his last name, a feeling of fierce possession and pride swelled up. His feelings for her, something that he had buried deep within himself, flooded to the surface. The problem was he wasn't totally sure she felt the same way.

He knew that there had to be something there, or at least he hoped there was something there. Their relationship as it now stood was one of deep friendship, adoration and gentle teasing. Although the teasing, as of late, had taken a turn towards the sexual side, which he hoped was a clue that maybe she did have the same feelings he did. She was so much like him, that if that was true, she was doing the same thing he was. Burying those feelings deep, waiting for the right moment to bring them forward. Maybe this was the time.

As he turned the corner, making his way down his street, his heart skipped a beat as he spied her black hearse sitting at the front of his house. He pulled into his driveway, throwing his gear shift into park and sat there for a moment trying to calm his nerves. After taking a few deep breaths, he finally managed to get his hands to move and open the car door. His feet followed and before he knew it he was walking in the front door.

The first thing that hit him was the aroma of something delicious simmering in the kitchen. All previous thoughts had left him momentarily when his stomach let out a very loud rumble, reminding him that he hadn't ate anything all day.

"Abbs?" he called out, as he hung up his jacket.

"In the kitchen," came her response.

Gibbs walked into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. There she stood, her hair down and damp, void of all make-up, dressed in tight black jeans, a simple white blouse and bare-foot. He swallowed hard, willing himself not to move and pin her to the counter, kissing her until they were both breathless.

'God…'

"Hope you don't mind that I took a shower," she said, her voice breaking the spell.

Gibbs shook his head slightly. "Not at all, Abbs. Did you find your stuff from the last time you…" He couldn't finish without seeing visions of her naked in his shower and to think that, was just jumping way ahead of the game.

"…took a shower here. Yes, it was right where I left it," she finished his sentence for him.

Her gaze locked onto his, her hands working nervously in front of her. It was then he realized she was as anxious about being here as he was having her here. With this in mind, he slowly made his way across the room, eyes still on hers. He watched them as they grew wide, knowing he was going to step into her personal space.

Abby quickly broke off her stare and turned to stir what ever was simmering in the pot.

"I hope you're hungry. I made a lot," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

Gibbs smiled and then stepped up behind her, placing one of his hands on her shoulder as the other trailed slowly down her arm until it landed on her hand that held the spoon. He stilled it and then gently took the spoon out of her hand, placing it on the stove. He then turned off the burner and slowly turned her around to face him.

"Abbs?"

"Hmmm…"

"Why are you really here?"

The damn broke as she slipped out of his reach. She started to pace back and forth, again wringing her hands nervously. He'd seen her do this before and he knew the best thing was to let her get it out of her system.

"Because, Gibbs. I noticed how you reacted to seeing my profile picture on the screen… and then I took your name without even asking you for permission to do so. It was very presumptuous of me to do that. I hope I didn't cause you any embarrassment. I don't think I could stand it if I did. Did I Gibbs? Please tell me that I…"

Gibbs had finally had enough and moved in to intercept her pacing. He laid a finger to her lips to silence her rambling.

"Not embarrassed, Abbs," he said, gathering her into his arms. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in deeply, the scent doing strange things to his senses.

"You're not?" She responded by clinging on to him tightly, as if she was in fear of him rejecting her.

"Nope… flattered, actually," he said.

Gibbs felt her stiffen for a moment and then relax into his embrace.

"Really, you're not just saying that to…"

Gibbs pulled back, obviously breaking her thought. He held her out just enough to make eye contact. There was so much he wanted to say, he just didn't know where or how to begin.

Of course, she must have sensed that, because she began it for him. "What are you thinking, Gibbs?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"That I want to kiss you." There he said it. Now it was up to her to respond.

And did she ever. Her lips were on his, her tongue slipping in, dancing with his own. God, she tasted so sweet. As the kiss heated up, a loud rumbling noise came from deep within his stomach.

Abby pulled back, her lips swollen from their first kiss and chuckled. "I think we better get you fed, Gibbs," she quipped.

"I think you're right. I have a feeling I'm going to need my strength," he said, still breathless from their kiss.

Without missing a beat she responded with, "You can bet your sweet ass you will."

_END_


	10. Chained, AforAntechinus

**Title**: Chained  
><strong>Author<strong>: AforAntechinus  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: _Chained_, season 2  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Post-case, Abby checks on Gibbs.

* * *

><p><em>ABBY: Hello?<br>GIBBS: You got him?  
>ABBY: Are you honestly asking me that?<br>GIBBS: No, Abs. I called to flirt. _

"Hey, Gibbs."

Not pausing in his sanding, he spoke up.

"Hey Abbs, what's up."

Are you okay after today?" concern evident in her voice, enough concern anyway to make him stop sanding and look up.

"I'm fine Abby, why are you asking?"

"It's just that well Tony is Tony and Kate said that you were worried but you were not speaking about it."

Pulling Abby into a hug he whispered, "You know me Abby, never good with words." His breath blowing across her neck, she shivered unintentionally.

Pulling back slightly she looked up at him. His blue eyes quickly changed to a deeper blue.

"No," Abby said pulling away.

She had made it to the base of the stairs before he had a chance to catch her.

"Abby, please don't go."

"Gibbs, I can't do this anymore."

"Do what Abby?"

"This, pretend that we are just friends, that there is nothing there when there is. Today made me realise how short life can be Gibbs."

Taking a breath she continued.

"I love you Gibbs."

His lips were on hers and their tongues were duelling for entry before she realised what had happened.

Smiling against him, she kissed him back.

_END_


	11. Tense, Black Water, Chirugal

**Title**: Tense**  
>Author<strong>: Chirugal**  
>Rating<strong>: PG-13**  
>Spoilers<strong>: _Black__Water_, season 2**  
>Summary<strong>: Gibbs checks on Abby's sore back, and gives her more than just a back-rub…

**Author****'****s****Note**: Let's see if I can still write Gabby! It's been a while. ~Amy/Chirugal

* * *

><p>Abby's music is playing at full blast again, and Gibbs steels himself for the increased noise as he walks into her office. She glances up, smiles and reaches for the volume dial before he can say a word.<p>

"I know that look, Gibbs."

Amused, he sets a fresh Caf-Pow! down on her desk. "After five years, you should."

Her eyes light up, and she reaches for the drink. "I like it. It's familiar. It's one of the things that makes you Gibbs."

Leaning against the wall behind her desk, he looks at the mess of numbers and letters on her screen. "You done with that report yet?"

"Haven't started it," she says promptly, turning her chair around to face him, and he frowns.

"Why not?"

"Because I had a session with a chiropractor. Or, that was the plan. They swore they called me to cancel, but I never got the message. I had to reschedule."

Concerned, Gibbs looks her over. "Your back still giving you trouble?"

"Yup. I just can't seem to relax, y'know?"

Abby arches her back, twists her torso a little, and he has to glance away to avoid staring at the way her shirt stretches across her full breasts. He can think of more than one way to relax her, and none of them are chiropractor-approved.

"And Kate's in New York for another couple of days, so I lost my amateur masseuse." She sighs.

He shouldn't. He knows he shouldn't… but he does.

"Want me to try?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Are you good?"

Gibbs arches an eyebrow right back. "Never had any complaints."

Abby fails to suppress a grin. "I'll bet. Well, Dr. Gibbs, do you want me in the chair or on my worktable?"

Hoping like hell that his expression gives away none of the powerful attraction he feels for this unique, fascinating woman, Gibbs gestures for her to turn her back to him. "Chair's fine."

Abby spins the chair around to face the desk again, and sits forward so he can begin. "Killjoy," she teases, a hint of laughter in her husky voice.

He takes the mental equivalent of a deep breath, then places his hands lightly on her shoulders. As he registers the tension held in her muscles, he feels a jolt of surprise. "Jeez, Abby, you're all knots."

"Believe me, I know." Her voice is softer, as if just having his hands on her has an effect. "Kate thinks it's too much caffeine."

"She could be right." Gibbs eyes the Caf-Pow! even as she reaches for it. "Maybe I should put you on tighter rations."

After a quick sip of the drink, Abby says, "You can't see it right now, because I can't turn around, but I am _pouting_. I can't believe you'd say that to me, Gibbs – you, who drinks stronger coffee, more times a day, than anyone I have _ever_ met! I feel betrayed."

"Uh-huh." He puts his thumbs to work against the knots in her shoulders, and she sighs, letting her head drop a little. "That okay?"

"_More_ than okay," she murmurs, and somehow the moment seems as intimate as a kiss. "You really know your stuff. They teach that at Quantico?"

Gibbs tries to diffuse the warm tension that's building in the air, even as he works a different kind of tension out of Abby's shoulders. "Sniper training didn't include backrubs, Abbs."

"Wouldn't that be great, though? If you could fire a backrub through your rifle, and the enemy just got warm fuzzies and surrendered?"

"In an ideal world." Affectionately, he presses a kiss to the top of her head – then realises he shouldn't, not now. Not when she's so focused on his touch, could misinterpret the gesture.

_More like 'correctly interpret'._

He should stop, tell her he doesn't want to take the risk of making her aching muscles worse. But as he takes a breath to say the words, she gives a soft purr of wordless appreciation, and his craving for her only gets stronger.

He's in over his head, and he knows it – but her body heat seeps through the material of her shirt to warm his hands, and he doesn't want to pull away. Doesn't know how he's gonna get this back onto neutral ground. Isn't sure he wants to figure it out.

"Gibbs?" She practically sighs his name, and desire slides down his spine like a caress. "Do you mind if I rest my head on the desk? This is more relaxing than I thought."

"Go ahead."

Abby shoves her keyboard aside and pillows her head on her arms. The chair's backrest obstructs Gibbs' reach, and he repositions himself so he can work out the knots in her upper back. He swallows hard as he notices a thin, exposed band of skin between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her skirt.

Gibbs wants to run his fingers across her smooth, tattooed flesh; wants to trail kisses over it, to push the material up to reveal the cross tattoo she's talked about, but that he's never seen.

He breaks the silence with words before he can decide to make the fantasy a reality. "Gonna fall asleep?"

Is it his imagination, or does she wriggle a little in her chair, as if she's trying to ease sexual frustration? "Trust me – no."

Testing the theory, he works his way down her back steadily, to 'accidentally' brush his thumb over the exposed skin of her lower back. Abby shivers – with pleasure, or are his fingers cold? – and he massages his way up again without pushing further.

After a few minutes more, he knows he should stop. This is already so far beyond anything he'd intended, and deeper into the realms of his fantasies than he ever thought he'd get. It's so tempting to just keep going, though – to massage her sides, then slip his hands over her breasts, smooth his fingers over her nipples and feel them rise to meet his touch, only a thin layer of cloth impeding their connection…

_Enough._ His reaction is visceral enough that he has to stop, or else end up with a hard-on she'd notice the instant she sat up. Reluctantly, he straightens, pulls away from her. "C'mon, Abbs. I think you're a little _too_ relaxed."

Abby gives a soft whimper in protest, then takes a deep breath and slowly begins to sit up. "Wow. Thanks, Gibbs… You really do have a magic touch."

She leans back in her chair, spins it around so she can look up at him. Her eyes are half-closed, her lips slightly curved in a smile, and as she rolls her newly-massaged shoulders, he fights the urge to cup her cheek in his hand and guide her lips to his.

Something beeps in the outer lab, and Abby blinks over at the machine in question, seeming to realise where she is. "I should get that."

She jumps to her feet, too soon, and he catches her around the waist as she stumbles, acting on pure instinct. Startled, she gazes into his face, and he catches a glimpse of raw desire, then her struggle to hide it.

He can't control himself any longer.

He kisses her, just a slight brush of lips against lips. Testing her, dreading her reaction in case he's pushed too far.

Abby slips a hand to the back of his neck and deepens the kiss, her breath a little shaky, her tongue flicking out to find his. She trembles with emotion, and he draws back, concerned. "Abbs…"

"Hmmm?" She nuzzles his neck, kisses it, and he can't remember what he was about to say. He finds her lips again, pulling her tight against him, and she smiles against his mouth as she feels his body begin to respond to her.

He tries to pull back, be a gentleman, but she slips her hands down to cup his ass, dissuading him from moving. "You think I don't want you, too?"

Gibbs hasn't let himself think about that… until now. It definitely does nothing to calm him down – quite the opposite, in fact. "Not helping, Abbs. You forget where we are?"

"Wanna go somewhere else?" Her expression is pure mischief.

"Yeah. But I'm gonna need to calm down, first, so let me go."

Abby sighs. "Okay, okay. Just promise me you won't run away."

He smiles – a rare, full smile – as he shakes his head. "Not a chance."

She doesn't release him – instead, she presses herself closer. "No way am I letting you go while you're smiling like that. Seriously hot, Gibbs."

Helpless to resist his impulses, he kisses her again. It might take them a while to get out of the office.

_END_.


	12. Doppelganger, ncislove

**Title**: Doppelgänger  
><strong>Author<strong>: ncislove  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Doppelgänger, season 2  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Abby just wants what's best for Gibbs.

* * *

><p>"For your sake, Gibbs, I hope it isn't a match."<p>

"For my sake?" Gibbs sat at her desk and watched as Abby did whatever it was that she did with those machines that got him the results he needed. It was late, and the rest of the team was home. McGee had been at the office when he had arrived, but he had sent him home. "Why's that?"

Abby glanced over at him with a sad smile. "It was obvious you were into her," she shrugged. "And now she might be a killer. I mean, if her DNA matches the DNA on the cigarettes we found…"

"Not like I'm in love with her, Abbs."

Abby worked quietly for a while and then spoke. "But if you were, I would feel bad. You deserve someone who loves you as much as you love them. I get the feeling that when you love someone, you love hard."

Gibbs thought back to Shannon. There wasn't anything he wouldn't have done for her – anything she wanted. He would've died for her, almost daily he wished he had. Same with the woman in front of him. She might not know it, but there wasn't anything he would deny her, if only she asked. "What about you, Abbs? What do you deserve?"

Abby thought for a minute and then turned to him with a grin. "A Caf-Pow! It's after mid-night and I've been here since six this morning."

Gibbs shook his head. He would ALMOST do anything she asked. "No more caffeine tonight. How much longer will this test take?"

"Ten minutes, maybe?"

"Let's finish it up then, and then you need to get home and get to bed."

It was less than ten minutes before they had their DNA match confirming that Karen indeed was a match. Abby wasn't surprised when Gibbs sent her home, making her promise to go to bed and get a good night's sleep.

"Go home too, Gibbs."

"Can't. Got to wrap this up."

Abby frowned as he left the lab and turned to her stuffed hippo. "What I deserve, is someone like you, Gibbs."

* * *

><p>Gibbs turned to leave the lab but then paused. He had been so caught up in the anger that Karen had lied to him, he hadn't given Abby a kiss to her cheek as a thank you. He was one step into her lab when he heard her. <em>What<em>_ I__ deserve __is __someone__ like__ you, __Gibbs. _At first he thought she had heard him come back, but when she picked up her hippo and hugged it to her chest, he realized that she hadn't heard him at all.

"One day I'll tell him," he heard her say. "One day I'll tell him exactly how I feel, but for now I'll just watch from the side lines and be there as a friend when other women let him down." It was hard to tear himself away, but he had a job to do. Then he could deal with Abby.

It was just past two in the morning when he was finally able to leave NCIS. He had done Karen the favor of bringing her into custody himself and she had gone with him willingly, not speaking the entire ride. Once she was in custody, he had a few papers to fill out, but there wasn't much he (or she) could do until morning, so he grabbed his stuff and headed out. His home was closer than hers, but all he could hear in the silent car was her voice… _someone __like __you._

They had been flirting since day one – nothing serious and always playful, but he hadn't ever thought of it going any further. Not until now. He thought back to kissing Karen. It had been enjoyable, but none of the butterflies and heart flutters that a person was supposed to feel. If people even felt that anymore. He hadn't since the early 90's – maybe butterflies and heart flutters had disappeared with the 90's? Or maybe he hadn't been kissing the right women.

He wasn't surprised to see that the lights of her apartment were off, but it didn't matter. He knew the code to her building, and he had a key to her place (in case of emergency, she had said). It was easy to navigate her place in the dark, and when he stepped in her bedroom, the moon light gave him enough to see the bed (and her in it) and that was all he needed. He sat on the opposite edge and took off his shoes and jacket, resting the latter over the arm of a chair next to the bed.

He felt movement on the bed and glanced back to see Abby looking at him through half open eyes. "Everything okay?"

Gibbs nodded and reached out to touch her cheek before pulling his shirt off and then shucking his pants. For someone that talked so much, Gibbs was surprised that she said nothing as he slid between the sheets next to her. Instead she just moved closer and curled into his side, resting her head on his chest. "Night, Gibbs."

"I deserve you, Abbs." He could feel her lips curve into a smile.

"You already have me."

"Night, Abbs." He pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head and felt the stirrings of butterflies in his stomach.

_END._


	13. A Coffin,A Casket,MeatPuzzle,miss4nschik

**Title: **A Coffin, a Casket**  
>Author:<strong> miss4nschik**  
>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> S02 E13 - "The Meat Puzzle"**  
>Summary<strong>: Abby rescues 'Matthew' from Mrs. Mallard…

**Author's note: **Time-wise post-ep but before the last scene.  
>Sorry for the potentially terrible OOCs... and OMG deepest apologizes for the awful tardiness! (In hindsight I probably should've skipped and let all the lovely people who do hit their deadlines do their work...)<p>

* * *

><p>"Ducky, you make sure you rest now, alright? Read a book, listen to music, sleep, do whatever you want as long as you take it easy, okay?", Abby carefully wraps her arms around the Doctor and hugs him for what must be been the tenth time that evening.<br>"Abigail, I am fully capable of moving about the house. The-"  
>"You should not be talking!", she briefly pulls back to look the older man in the eyes with her best stern face, "That awful, hateful, horrible bitc-, I mean, woman , forced that sharp thingy into your neck! Talking will surely affect the wound."<p>

The Doctor catches Gibbs' gaze over her shoulder, widening his eyes to let his friend know that he wants to be rescued from her tight grip. Gibbs only response is to smirk and shake his head slightly. He has no intention of trying to get Abby to stop fussing over their friend. After all, she only wants to show how much she cares.  
>"Kate, make sure he doesn't do anything he shouldn't be doing.", Abby tells the female agent standing in the doorway a few steps behind the dear Doctor.<p>

Whilst Abby talks to Ducky and Kate, Gibbs suddenly finds himself trapped in a conversation with a very chatty Mrs Mallard. She has (yet again) noticed that he's not wearing a ring and decides to make a not so subtle move.  
>"How about you stay for a nightcap, Matthew?", the elderly woman asks with a smile while placing her hand on his arm. And then adding, in a slightly lower voice, "I may not be as young and flexible as I used to be but I can assure you that I still know my way around a man."<p>

Right behind Gibbs' back Abby, who had overheard the lady's proposition, manages to suppress a laugh. She can notice the small movements he does in order to try to back away from the lady and thinks to herself that Gibbs should thank whatever lucky star that is his (or at least her) for her truly impeccable timing. Sneaking up behind him, she comes to the rescue by locking her arm with his.  
>"Mrs Mallard, I'm sorry to interrupt this lovely conversation but very special Agent Gibbs here has a very special mission to attend to."<p>

He looks curiously at the woman currently attached to his right arm, as in trying to figure out what mission she's talking about. With raised eyebrows and a few quick nods she makes her point that he should just go along if escape is what he really wants.

"Yes. Thank you, mrs Mallard-"

"I told you before, call me Victoria!"

"Victoria, it's been an, eh, interesting evening but we really have to go now."

"Do come back again soon, Matthew!", they heard her call after them as they exited the front door.  
>However, they missed the "Next time, leave that raven haired assistant at the office..."-remark that followed...<p>

Once out on the veranda Abby began to giggle and Gibbs couldn't resist a quite laugh either.  
>"Think I arrived just in time to get you off the hook, '<em>Matthew<em>'. Ducky's mother is quite the cougar."  
>Having let go of his arm she walks before him down the steps and towards the cars parked in the driveway, talking back at him over her shoulder, "Or maybe it's just that effect you and your silver hair have on all women."<p>

All women? He can't help but wonder if that includes the one currently walking in front of him.

She reaches the car first and turns to face him, leaning casually against the hood.  
>"Now to your important mission, Very Special Agent Gibbs.", she states, sounding very serious. He just looks at her, wondering what she's really up to. Especially since she's got such a, what can only be described as scheming, smirk on her face.<br>"You're taking me home."

Right. A special mission indeed.

He knows that she's just having fun with this, that she's actually not asking for anything more than for him to drive her home. But, yeah, he sure wouldn't mind taking her home... Ever since the day he first met her, there had always been something special between them. An attraction he couldn't get away from. At work it was usually easy to avoid thinking of her as the woman, instead just seeing the scientist that's brings out the important clues from tons of evidence, and keep all talk work-related. But working with her also made it impossible not to step dangerously close to the border of what was "safe" and not. Just this week he had pulled her pigtail, in a playful way to get her attention, and a second later got the information that she sleeps naked. To have a beautiful woman tell you that she sleeps naked... Messes with your head for sure.

He can see a challenge in her eyes and matching her beat, he takes the bait with line, sinker and all. He steps up to her, invading her personal space like so many times before. Intently watching her face for any kind of reaction, his gaze comes to a stop at her red lips. He speaks in a low voice, more like a murmur meant for her ears only, "My place or yours?".

His voice alone is enough to send shivers down her spine, making her skin cover with goose bumps under her warm clothes.  
>"I was thinking mine but now, wow, that is a tempting offer...", she says while letting her eyes slowly run up and down his body. Returning up to meet his intense eyes. How come they fell into this kind of dangerously flirting banter almost every time they were alone? It also would seem like every time they were reminded about how fragile life could be, it always added to the attraction... always added to the magnetism, pulling them closer together...<br>She hopes that he can't see through her act of confidence because on the inside her pulse is climbing higher the closer he gets. Her heart always skips a beat or two, when he gets so close she can detect the scent of his shower gel, or the times he's come straight from his basement and the scent of sawdust is lingering in his clothes, or the times when she can feel his hot breath against the skin of her neck when he stands behind her...

"Get in.". His two words are greeted by one big happy grin from her and a moment later they're on their way from the Mallard's residence. To her place or his, she doesn't know yet but it doesn't really matter anyway.

* * *

><p>It turns out that he drives straight to her place and once there he walks her to the door.<br>Walking with him by her side she subconsciously straightens her back just a little more, walking almost proudly. Secretly hoping that the annoyingly gossiping woman in number 4 will see them... She can't help but smile, feeling kinda silly for having such a silly thought, like some lovesick teenager.

When they've reached her apartment and she's unlocked the four locks she's got on her door, she turns to him, feeling reluctant to let him go just yet...  
>"So, '<em>Matthew<em>'... wanna come in for a nightcap?", she grins, "I am a bit younger than Mrs Mallard and quite flexible."

He flashes one of them smiles that makes her melt every time. Truly amused by her reference to Mrs Mallard. But before he can come up with a good answer she reaches up to place her hand around his cheek.

Leaning up, she places a tender kiss on the opposite cheek, very close to the corner of his mouth. She slowly backs away again. "Thank you, Gibbs."

"For what?"

"Everything.", she begins thoughtfully, "For saving Ducky. For making me feel safe...", then mid-sentence she can feel her confidence vanish completely so she rushes through the last part, which just has to be said, "and for being so damn strong and sexy. Good night!", she turns quickly, wanting to disappear into her lair and go hide.

Even if her movements are quick, he manages to grab her wrist and pulls her right back and into his arms. She looks at him. Very surprised and a bit worried. She opens her mouth to say something but instead of waiting to listen to what she might have to say he softly presses his lips against hers.

Either he's reading her correctly and this could be the beginning of something new together.

Or he's wrong and she'll press charges for sexual assault in the morning.

Either way, this is what he wants. Hopefully it's what she wants too.

When he's about to start worrying about misunderstanding her completely, she relaxes against him and kisses him back with great passion. That kind of passion that makes you forget about time and place and nothing else matters. Tongues meeting for the first time, bodies pressing against each other closer than ever...

Her cheeks are flushed and both of them are breathing raggedly when the need to break for air becomes necessary.

She looks up through her lashes. "Stay?"

"Not sleeping in the coffin, Abs. "

"Oh you won't have to sleep...", a spark of mischief in her eyes and a oh-so-sultry tone to her voice.  
>A knockout combination that turns out to be impossible to resist.<br>Stepping backwards she pulls him forward... and then the door closes behind his back.

Leaving was never an option.

_END._


	14. You Satisfied Yet?, Witness, gosgirl

**Title**: You Satisfied Yet?  
><strong>Author<strong>: gosgirl  
><strong>Rating<strong>: 15  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Witness  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Written for the Gabby Collaboration Project – post-episode tag for Witness.

* * *

><p>"Night, Abby."<p>

"Night, Timmy. C'mere."

Gibbs watched as Abby folded his junior agent in a familiar bone-crushing hug, trying to tamp down his usual reaction to seeing the former lovers together in an embrace.

He knew they were no longer 'together' in that sense, and McGee had gone through a tough time with the latest case, so he felt slightly guilty for begrudging McGee the kind of comfort Abby was so adept at providing.

However, he couldn't help a ball of jealousy knotting his stomach as the hug went on for longer than he would have liked... giving himself a mental head slap for being selfish.

McGee eventually released Abby and stepped back, giving her a wan smile before bidding his boss goodnight. Gibbs watched him heading for the elevator, not liking the slump to McGee's shoulders and made a mental note to keep an eye on him over the next few days.

Aware of Abby approaching in the otherwise empty bullpen, Gibbs lowered his eyes to his paperwork until an expanse of creamy thigh settled on the edge of his desk within his eyeline.

"I hope he's gonna be okay, Gibbs?"

He looked up, deciding her face was probably a safer place to look than her legs... though it was a close run thing when he saw her biting that full bottom lip. "He will be."

"Tim hasn't grown the tougher skin you and Tony have over the years," she told him, earnestly, worry shimmering in her green eyes. "He feels things too deeply sometimes."

"We'll keep an eye on him, Abbs. He'll get over it." He watched her carefully, sensing there was more to her worry than that and her next words confirmed it.

"And I feel awful, I really do," Abby said, jumping up in her agitation and starting to pace, hands gesturing and pigtails swinging in a familiar pose. "I got really annoyed with both of them when they didn't concentrate on the attacker's image and instead messed about on my computer... spending more time flirting than they did working, and I was really pissed. Perhaps if I'd been more insistent, we'd have had more of a description of the guy."

"Don't go beating yourself up, Abby." He stood up and moved in front of her, gripping her shoulders when she came to a halt in front of him. "McGee knew how important that description was... and it might not have made any difference."

"Yeah, maybe," Abby acknowledged, almost reluctantly, "and I guess hindsight's 20/20."

Gibbs nodded, turning back to his desk, "Can't torture yourself with what ifs."

She watched him fondly, "Says the man who tortures himself with just that on a regular basis."

"Yeah, well, that's me... not you." He threw her a rueful half smile before asking, "You nearly done?"

"Yup, just finishing up," Abby nodded, turning away. "I'll just go and get my report."

"I'll come get it. Then go home, get some rest. Come on, I'll walk you out." He kissed her cheek and walked with her to the back elevator.

As they rode down to her lab, Abby was unusually quiet and preoccupied but he put it down to worry over McGee. Following her into her office, Gibbs waited while she signed off on her completed report and handed it to him.

He could sense her hesitation as he glanced through the report and waited her out, but was initially surprised by her question.

"Do you fancy some company tonight, Gibbs?"

_If it was her, he did._

He glanced up, taking in her uncertain expression, "You want take-out?" When he saw her wide lips start to curve into a smile, he ploughed on, "Come and help an old Marine with his boat?"

She pointed at him, grin widening, "You're on. It'll be just what I need. My four favourite Bs... boat, bourbon, basement and boss-man."

"That in any particular order?" he teased, returning her grin.

"Well, in ascending order of importance of course."

"Nice save, Abbs."

"You're not gonna catch me out like that," she wagged a finger at him as he chuckled and then she abruptly sobered, "Seriously though, I do feel in need of some quiet company tonight."

He perched on the edge of her desk, "Something on your mind?"

"Not especially, it's just..." She stole a glance at him but then her eyes skittered away from his before she took a deep breath and continued, "It's just seeing Tim start to move on with someone else, it just made me realize that I haven't... not really."

"No?"

Something in his expression must have prompted her to add. "I mean I've moved on as in moved on from our relationship."

"You sure?" He didn't like the way his gut clenched, almost in dread that she could still be harbouring romantic feelings for McGee and that she might regret ending their relationship.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She finally met his gaze and he couldn't quite read her expression.

"You don't sound sure." He paused before continuing, "You want him back?"

"God, no, Gibbs." He couldn't help relief washing over him when she sounded so adamant, shaking her head. "I knew we were never gonna last. We do far better as friends. No, no, that's not it... it's just... oh, I dunno. I guess I'm just a bit restless, maybe feeling a bit down... not way, way down in the doldrums but maybe feeling like I'm in a bit of a rut." She shrugged and looked down at her hands, gnawing at her lip.

His head was telling him to leave it there but his gut was screaming at him to push her a bit... to push both of them, to find out why she was feeling this way.

So he stood and moved closer to her, taking her hand when he was near enough and they were hidden from the cameras.

"Any particular reason?" he asked, softly.

Her fingers closed over his briefly, tightly, before she released his hand and turned away, folding her arms round herself. "No... just..."

"Just what, Abbs?" he persisted, wishing her could see her expression as he stepped up behind her, invading her personal space in his usual fashion.

"I'm just a bit down, y'know," she repeated, "knowing... "

She glanced up at him and his breath caught at the spark of longing in her eyes that was so strong but gone so quickly that he wondered if he'd imagined it. "Knowing what?"

Abby was silent for so long that he wondered if she was going to answer him, but then she said softly, "Knowing that I'll never have what I want... who I want."

He thought about that look just now... and decided to take a chance, hoping like hell he wasn't wrong.

"You sure you'll never have it?" He was so close, he could feel her body heat tugging at him and didn't miss the shiver that ran through her as he whispered his question in her ear.

"Yeah, pretty sure." But there was a note of uncertain hope in her voice that made him press on.

"What... " He grabbed for his courage and ploughed on, changing tack, "who do you want, Abbs?"

His head was spinning with her nearness, and he almost closed his eyes against the sensations of want and sheer need that swept through him whenever she was in close proximity.

"Not sure you're ready to hear it..." Abby trailed off, her voice barely audible but by the sudden change to addressing him rather than an anonymous 'he', Gibbs was suddenly sure.

He resisted the urge to grab her and spin her round... she was still skittish and he didn't want her to frighten her.

"Try me," he whispered, his nose almost against her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

"Don't wanna mess things up."

He felt her sway perhaps unconsciously back towards him and his hands came to rest naturally on her hips. "You sure you would?"

"I'm so scared I would." Her voice was husky and rolled down his spine, causing his hands to flex unconsciously.

"Don't be, you couldn't mess things up, Abbs." He nuzzled into her hair and slid his arms round her waist as he dropped his mouth to press a light kiss to the spider web tattoo... lips grazing the inked lines as he'd always wanted to. "I wanna hear it... Tell me."

She gasped, tilting her neck to one side to give him easier access as his lips wandered to her pulse point. "What I want is right here, but I didn't dare hope you wanted me. It's you, Gibbs... it's always been you."

At that, he did spin her round, hands coming up to cup her face as his lips came down on hers. He absorbed her gasp of surprise in his mouth and she was soon kissing him back fiercely, making mewling noises in the back of her throat.

It was only his awareness of where they were that stopped him pressing her down onto her desk and taking her there and then.

When they broke for air, Gibbs drew back, taking a certain amount of masculine satisfaction from the dazed look in her cat-green eyes.

Abby ran her hand along his jawline and over his lips, smiling when he nipped her fingers. "So is that your way of telling me I can move on?"

"If you want to." He clasped his hands loosely behind her back, keeping her close, gazing down at her lovely face.

"Oh, I want to," she whispered.

"Then let's go home."

Abby grinned up at him as she nodded, "I'll meet you there. I can grab take-out on the way... " She arched an eyebrow, her grin turning cheeky, "If that's satisfactory for the guy who's never satisfied."

"Oh, I can be."

He pulled her close again, holding Abby against him with a hand cupped round the back of her head as he nuzzled her face. He felt her arms come round his waist as she almost melted against him.

"Really?" came the husky murmur into his neck.

"Uh-huh." He dropped his lips to her neck, kissing that sweet spot where it curved into her shoulder.

"Care to demonstrate?" she asked him, teasingly.

"Count on it." He tugged her hips close, letting her feel what effect she was having on him and felt her full body shiver as he growled into her neck.

* * *

><p>Hours later, they lay entwined underneath his boat, sweat cooling on their bodies, clothes scattered round the basement.<p>

Stroking her bare back slowly, tracing the outline of the cross as Abby sprawled boneless on top of him, Gibbs thought idly that a shower might be a good idea soon.

Sawdust was making itself felt in places where Gibbs would rather not feel sawdust, and he really should have a thorough and lengthy exploration in case Abby had picked up any splinters.

Before he could voice his thought, a throaty chuckle drifted up to his ears, making even his sated cock twitch.

He looked down the line of his body as Abby raised her head, resting her chin on his chest, an impish grin breaking out... the one that made her look like a mischievous elf.

"Satisfied yet?"

_END_


	15. Spark, Caught On Tape, bluefirebird

**Title:** Spark**  
>Author:<strong> bluefirebird  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13**  
>Spoilers:<strong> Caught On Tape – 2x15  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Post-ep for Caught On Tape. Gibbs ponders on the team's teasing of each other.

Gibbs had been amused all day by the bickering between DiNozzo, McGee and Kate, having heard their earlier conversation on whether it was possible for men and women to just be friends. As a man he knew that Kate's belief was a little on the naive side: he found it easy to just be friends or colleagues with women that he had no spark with – and there were times that he was grateful how few of the women in his life he had any spark with – but where there was a spark it took a lot of discipline on his part to behave as a gentleman. And oh he tried to be the gentleman that his parents had taught him to be, one reason for three of his marriages, and the consequent divorces an indicator of where that had failed.

Of course, rule 12 was there for a reason, an added bolster to his self-discipline after an ill-fated affair in Europe with a certain red-headed co-worker, which might have been a fourth marriage/divorce for him if she hadn't given him the boot. It certainly hadn't been a benefit to their working relationship, although it had pleasantly occupied many an hour when they weren't actually working.

He'd offered Kate the job with NCIS when she resigned from the Secret Service because he saw the potential for a good investigator and an asset to his team, there'd been a spark between them when he'd first met her on Air Force One (OK, technically Alpha Foxtrot whatever) but he'd been relieved that there seemed to be less to it as they got to know one another – some of Kate's more annoying habits working wonderfully as a turn-off.

Abby, on the other hand was the one person he found it hardest to work with – they sparked off each other big-time and even flirted openly with one another, but he only allowed himself to respond to, and continue with, the flirting with her because he _knew_ it wasn't ever going to go anywhere. Of all the women he'd known and lusted after, Abby was the one he was sure wasn't interested him, wasn't in his league.

So why had it felt like a punch in the gut when he overheard Abby's answers to Tony and Kate's questions about friends and sex. He'd always known that Abby's attitude to love and sex was more free and easy than his own, he believed in marriage and it didn't seem to feature in Abby's plans. He'd thought they were friends and he certainly looked forward to seeing her every day, but in the privacy of his own home he allowed himself to fantasise about her: the feel of her lips on his, the touch of her skin beneath his fingertips, the taste of her – was she as spicy as her chosen perfume? - and so much more.

Now, home with his boat late at night, and sanding all together too hard on the wood beneath his hands Gibbs tried to calm his swirling thoughts. Usually working on the wood was soothing and allowed him to either empty his head of thoughts or to methodically work through the strands of a case. But Abby – and his relationship with Abby – wasn't a case to be cracked, nor the normal sort of puzzle to put together.

Lost as he was in his thoughts, and the almost violent sanding, his usual sixth sense for when he had company was effectively turned off and when a gentle hand touched his now-sweaty shoulder he managed not to jump in surprise, confining the movement to just the muscles twitching under her touch. He spun round, accustomed to finding her eyes level with his by virtue of the chunky boots she frequently wore. Blue eyes stared at green for endless seconds, Gibbs didn't know what to say and obviously neither did Abby at first.

Finally Abby broke the silence: "you smell good, you know, Gibbs."

He snorted, taking note of just how sticky and sweaty he had made himself with the effort he'd been putting into the sanding, a task that he usually accomplished at a much more leisurely pace.

Abby moved closer and hugged him, burying her nose in his shoulder and inhaling deeply. He hugged her back gently, patiently waiting to see why she was here and what she had to say.

She drew back a little to allow herself to look him in the face. "The sense of smell is a very primal one, Gibbs, forget aftershave and perfume, sweat is what counts when attracting a mate."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing.

"I was watching you this afternoon," she continued, "when Tony and I were talking about sex with friends."

She paused, watching him and he gave the tiniest twitch indicating for her to continue.

"Sex with friends is no strings, 'friends with benefits'; it's easy when you are just friends. It's not easy when you love someone..." Again Abby paused, searching his eyes, his face. "You're a friend, but I couldn't _just_ have sex with you."

Dense male he could do with the best of them, but Gibbs could also be good at reading between the lines when needed. He leaned forward, kissing Abby on the cheek as he did so often in the lab, then again, gently and slightly closer to her lips, again closer until he reached her lips, then on the lips. He parted his lips slightly and gently worked at Abby's with his tongue. As she opened up to him the gentleness fled, strong tongues duelling with each other and Abby melted against him even as his own body did the opposite.

He threaded the fingers of one hand into the hair at the back of her neck, idly thinking that the pigtails she still wore were in the way of him combing his hand through her hair, while the fingers of the other hand burrowed into the clothing at her back seeking bare skin to touch. Abby had an easier time of delving under his t-shirt with both hands to caress the hot and sweaty skin beneath.

Finally they drew apart to look each other in the eyes again, chests heaving with effort, desire and emotion.

Gibbs quirked that lop-sided boyish smirk that she loved so much: "bed?"


	16. Pop Life, jennifer6973

**Title**: Pop Life  
><strong>Author<strong>: Jennifer6973  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: _Pop Life_, season 2  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Abby wonders why people do things.

* * *

><p>How she ended up in the basement tonight, against the workbench kissing Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't a mystery. To Abby Scuito it was a miracle. A miracle that he felt the same way about her that she did him. Most of the time she came down to talk about the case they just finished while he worked on the boat. She always wondered why people did things. Sometimes he would answer the best he could, but sometimes in the most heinious cases he would't or couldn't know why someone did what they did. Sometimes she would just come down and sit and watch him work on the boat. Watching him sometimes made her fantasize right there in front of him, of things that if he knew about would make her blush.<p>

He was Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Agent in Charge of the Major Case Response Team in Washington, DC. She was Abigail Scuito Forensic Scientest for NCIS. They were different as night and day. But she still had a crush on him, she hoped he didn't know. She tested his evidence, he brought her Caf-Pows. They'd known each other for at least 5 years. He was quiet, a loner. She was spunky and outgoing, more so because of her deaf parents. Quiet was foreign to her. She'd never been married, he had been divorced three times. But what they had in common was a work ethic. They didn't stop until they solved the case. She liked that about him.

What she didn't know was that he had been married a forth time. His first wife and daughter's death is what drove him to do everything he could to solve every crime, so the victim's family had closure.

Now back to how she ended up in the basement.

She had gone over to his house, because she had been thinking of the case they just finished. A Naval Petty Officer was murdered because her sister thought she was too perfect and made her look bad. She had wondered if she could be like the sister. Would she murder her brother Luca just because he made her look bad. She didn't know (well she did), but she wanted to be assured she was not that kind of person.

That's how she ended up in front of his house. So she walked up to the door and was about to walk in, because he always left his door unlocked, when he opened the door. She must of looked distressed, because he walked her over to his couch so they could talk.

So they talked a while, and when he stood up to walk downstairs she ran up and kissed him. He kissed her back. She was not expecting that, nor what happened after that. Especially on the floor in his living room. He had rules about this. They'd have to talk about it, especially Rule #12.

So she had gotten up afterwards, after he left to work on the boat in the basement, and put on his white t-shirt to go downstairs to talk. So she walked downstairs and he looked up surprised that she was in his shirt. It was the first thing she found. So they talked about what just happened and if they wanted to continue. They both decided they liked it, wanted to continue it, but keep it somewhat secret. That way no one could question them about waht they thought an odd situation. They'd be wrong and really who wants to risk a headslap asking about Gibbs' sex life.

So that is how she ended up against the workbench, tshirt off and Gibbs kissing her amoung other things.

_END_


	17. Her Eyes, An Eye for an Eye, Zabby

**Title**: Her Eyes  
><strong>Author<strong>: Zabby  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: _An Eye for an Eye, _season two.  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Evidence from the case gives Gibbs nightmares he could do without.

* * *

><p>It was the eyes, the damn disembodied orbs that drove the case and his team. They haunted him every moment; every time he closed his eyes, took a drink of coffee, or hell, even when he just had a moment to breathe. He could picture those eyes, sparkling with a vibrant color he'd never seen before, but with a life that he knew too well.<p>

Every morning with a kiss on the cheek and a Caf-Pow! in hand, Gibbs would see a passion, an energy that made his heart sing a little, made a half-smile appear on his lips. He recognized the life in the dismembered organs; he recognized his girl. The case distracted him from the disturbing similarities, so he pushed his team harder. But now, with the case put to bed, and the eyes continued to haunt him.

Instead of the cobalt blue orbs hovering on the plasma, the perverse image in his mind had changed to a vibrant emerald green. No longer the evidence in a solved case, the eyes belonged to Abby, the windows to her lively, beautiful soul, torn from her face.

In the beginning, the pictures only flashed through his mind only occasionally, catching him when he wasn't prepared: scolding an agent, interrogating a suspect, driving to interview witnesses, even simply walking to get a refill of his coffee. He thanked God that they never came when he was with Abby. Gibbs didn't think he could handle the morbid reflections.

And now, the images were coming so frequently, he found himself being woken up in the middle of the night, Abby's name on his lips as the violent visions chased back into his dreams. He couldn't take the disturbances much longer. They were affecting his sleep, affecting his work. He even stopped making his trips down to Abby's lab in case the images started overlaying into his reality.

Once, Abby had tried to stop him, tried to get him to tell her why he was avoiding her. He couldn't do that to her, couldn't put his nightmare into her mind. His mind called out for the comfort he knew he would find in her embrace, for the relief he would get from releasing the words he kept buried inside. Only he couldn't be that selfish. Gibbs would live with his demons if it meant saving Abby from the pain. He gruffly pushed her away, knowing he hurt her with his rejection, but he didn't know what else to do.

He had to figure out something before his mind broke. But what?

It'd been four weeks since they'd first received the sapphire eyes, four weeks since Gibbs had been able to sleep undisturbed by anything other than his normal nightmares. He'd had those for so long, he was almost comfortable in the familiarity.

But tonight, his dream had been particularly violent; Abby's screams echoed in his ears as he fought awake. There was moisture on his cheeks he quickly dried before tossing back his single sheet, any effort at trying to sleep would be wasted. Pushing himself up, he struggled to shake away the fog of dreams as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. The boat and sawdust were the only things left to him, and he headed there, stopping by the kitchen to heat up some coffee still left in the pot from the morning.

Minutes or hours passed by – Gibbs never did keep track – when he heard the unmistakable creak of his front door. His body tensed into the utter stillness his sniper training had given him as his ears picked out the quietest of movements. All at once he relaxed when the sounds that reached him were familiar. Though she wasn't wearing the boots most normally associated with her style, Abby's footsteps were unmistakable, even dressed in old jeans and beat-up Converse.

She didn't say a word when her feet stopped at the bottom of the staircase, and Gibbs knew he was staring at her in apprehension. He didn't know what she wanted, was afraid he knew what she was here for, and worried she had somehow guessed at the pictures tearing through his mind.

Her emerald eyes pierced through the gloom of his basement as she started walking towards him, her upper body enveloped by his Marine sweatshirt. A brief thought passed through his mind that she must have picked it up before starting down into the basement.

Abby stopped a few inches from him; the passion in her frame sending waves of heat to collide with his. Without say a word, she picked up the hand free of tools, ignoring his flinch. Swirls of sawdust shimmered around her as she placed his hand against her cheek, stilling as she waited for his move.

Despite every warning in his mind, Gibbs pressed his hand against her skin, feeling the life flowing just beneath. Tentatively, his thumb stroked over her eyelid, his own eyes watching intently as her eyelashes fluttered against the pale skin below. His breath blew out slowly into the night air as her eyes slowly opened, revealing the orbs that had haunted him. Her face turned into his palm then, where she placed a kiss.

Gibbs watched as their hands lowered, her own squeezing his before letting go. Her hands held his face then, thumbs caressing at the shadows that seemed to permanently mark his face. Abby rose then, onto her tiptoes – she was much shorter without her raised boots – and placed a soft kiss to each of his closed eyelids. Feet lowered, she met his eyes when they reopened, and Gibbs could see the understanding within the depths.

Turning from him, she settled into an oversized chair he had once brought down for her, drawing long legs to her chest as she settled into wait. Gibbs watched as she rested her head against her knees, a soft smile playing across her lips. With no words spoken, Abby had let him know she understood what was disturbing him, what was driving him away. And with her soft presence, she let him know that she would wait, wait for him to be ready for whatever comfort or companionship he wanted from her.

A sigh left him then, a breath he didn't realize he was holding, as he turned away and started working on his boat again. He would work just a little while longer, before taking Abby upstairs just to hold her, to seek the connection she offered to him. And he knew, without words, that his soul would be at ease again, that the image of murdered eyes would be replaced by the living.

_END._


	18. Bikini Wax, ReplicantAngel

Title: Relaxation Technique

Author: ReplicantAngel

Rating: G

Spoilers: Bikini Wax, Season 2

Summary: Gibbs always knows when something's bothering Abby.

888888888888888888888888

"Kind of hard on McGee today, weren't you, Abbs?"

She glanced up from her spot at the table but didn't pause in packing away the case's evidence. "He doubted my ability to run all the fingerprints lifted at a crime scene, Gibbs," she replied. "I know it was public restroom and all, but come on! Ask a stupid question, y'know?"

Gibbs hid his smile behind his coffee cup. As much as Abby's soft spot for McGee irritated him, it wasn't fair to take so much enjoyment in her frustration with his youngest agent. Not even when it was justified - the idea of anyone questioning Abby's work ethic was ridiculous. McGee was lucky to get away with a couple sarcastic comments rather than banishment from the lab.

Abby let out a long sigh and let her hands drop. "Timmy has so much to learn about women."

"Think you just described the male condition, Abbs."

"You get it, Gibbs." Her eyes slid to the Caf-Pow he'd been holding in his other hand. "You always know what I need to hear. Or don't need to hear."

He set her drink on the stainless steel table. "My ex-wives would be surprised any woman would say that. Just seems to work with you."

"You saying that I'm special?" she asked, brightening.

"Always have been, Abbs," he said, leaning forward to brush his lips across her cheek. He was tempted to linger - he was tempted to press a kiss to far more intimate places - but he pulled back to watch her expression. She always smiled when he kissed her, but on occasion, he thought he could see something more than mere happiness. Sometimes, he caught a glimpse of what could mean so much more - love that went so much further than friendship.

He hoped, anyway. For all of Abby's confidence in him, Gibbs didn't always know what she wanted. Did he see what she felt? Or what he wanted her to feel?

Gibbs sighed as he straightened up again. His ex-wives wouldn't just be surprised at his interactions with Abby - they would faint from shock at his thoughts regarding her. He'd never invested this much time or energy into analyzing any of their emotions, and he was _married_ to them. He didn't engage in long, slow dances. When he was attracted to a woman, she knew it, and if she wasn't attracted to him, he moved on.

Abby _was_ special, because she was the exception to every rule.

"Earth to Gibbs!"

He blinked. "Yeah?"

"You were in your own little world for a minute there," she said.

Gibbs didn't hesitate - he reached into the box she'd been packing and picked up the bikini glue. "Just wondering if you really went through that much of this stuff while doing your beauty pageants. Like you told McGee you did."

She laughed and grabbed it back from his hand. "I guess I _was_ kind of rough on him today, but it was totally deserved," she said. "Well, mostly. I might have taken out some of my stress on him." She bit her lip, and Gibbs recognized the signs of guilt taking root.

"He'll live, Abbs," he said. "Had dinner yet?"

As planned, the implied invitation drew her attention. "Depends. You asking me out, Gibbs?" she asked, the smile returning.

He ignored the way his heartbeat stuttered at her choice of words. "Not out. My place."

"Even better," she sighed happily.

Gibbs waited while she shut down her lab, smiling at how she talked to each machine and promised she would be back in the morning. Her shoulders had already lost a lot of the tension she'd been holding all day, and she leaned into him as he put his hand at the small of her back as they walked to the elevator. "Gonna tell me why you're so stressed?" he asked, pressing the button for the main floor.

"It really was a lot of fingerprints," she answered with a shrug, and he sensed her mood plummeting back down.

He reached out and hit the emergency stop. "You know that you can tell me, Abby."

"Bad timing," she said. "That's all."

He looked at her as she tucked herself further under his arm. He hugged her close, and she sighed again.

"I went on a date with this guy that I met last time I had court. He had this bag with Plastic Death's logo on it and a really gnarly skull tat on his arm. He was cool at the courthouse, but it turns out it was his friend's bag, and he doesn't like tattoos on women. Hypocrite." She rolled her eyes. "I know what you're thinking, Gibbs. I should have talked to him longer than five minutes before wasting my time on a jerk like that. That I shouldn't let some random guy get me down. I'm not! It's just that after being treated like a freak of nature, it's not the most fun thing in the world to come back to a case involving a bikini contest."

Gibbs took a deep breath and tried to push away the anger he felt at the mere idea of anyone making Abby question her looks. His voice still sounded rough as he pressed a kiss to her hair and said, "You'd win every bikini contest I ever judged, Abby." It tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

She pulled back and looked up at him with her eyes wide. "That's not exactly what I expected to hear," she laughed. "Don't get me wrong. I like it, except for the idea of me ever being in a bikini in public."

He smiled - saying something so ridiculous was worth it if it improved Abby's mood. "Figured you knew I'd have a few words with this guy if I ever met him."

"More than a few words, I think."

"And who said you'd be wearing the bikini in public?"

Her eyes went wide yet again. "Gibbs! That was actually scandalous. And here we are in an elevator that's been stopped, after you invite me over to your place for dinner. Maybe the question shouldn't be about what's up with me. What's gotten into _you_?"

He honestly didn't know. A dark elevator certainly wasn't where he planned on hinting to Abby that he'd imagined her in _far_ less than a bikini. He could still salvage the situation too - they'd flirted enough times that he could play this off as just another teasing comment. He just didn't know if he _wanted _to.

"Gibbs."

He blinked, realizing he hadn't answered her question. "Yeah?"

She'd turned serious. "That's the second time you've gotten distracted in the past few minutes. What's going on? You know that I can't read you like you can me."

Gibbs took a deep, steadying breath. "Just wishing I had half the skill you think I have, Abbs," he said. "Then I'd know how you felt if this was more than just our usual dinner."

"Oh." Her hands twisted together as she peered up at him, an unsteady smile playing at the corners of her lips. "How much more?"

His hand began to slide around her waist. "As much more as it would take to convince you that I _do_ like tattoos on women."

She brightened. "Really? I always thought you'd know how I felt. That you'd always known I would like to have more than just dinner. And I always thought it was the tattoos and everything else that made you hold back. Or my taste in music. Or that I'm not a redhead. You live by your rules, Gibbs."

He shook his head. "No rules when it comes to this, Abbs. Not with you."

Abby laughed. "Figures you'd say this in the elevator."

"Expecting flowers and chocolate?"

"Nope. Caf-Pows and 'good work, Abby' kisses are more than enough for me," she replied. "I might want to talk about _how_ you kiss me from now on though."

Gibbs smiled and leaned down. "I have a few ideas," he said before closing the gap between them. She tasted like cherries and smelled of gunpowder as she pressed against him. With her soft skin under his fingertips and her quiet sighs, Abby filled his senses. After several moments, he reluctantly pulled away.

"You're a hell of a negotiator," she murmured.

"Haven't even started yet, Abbs."

She licked her lips. "Still up for dinner?"

Gibbs leaned over and flipped off the emergency switch, holding her against him the entire time. "Then we'll finish those 'negotiations'."

Abby stole another searing kiss that left him grasping at her, and she grinned. "You know, I think that stress of mine is a thing of the past."


	19. A New Sanctuary,Conspiracy Theory, bbfan

**Title**: A New Sanctuary  
><strong>Author<strong>: bbfan  
><strong>Rating<strong>: K+  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Season 2 Episode 19 - Conspiracy Theory  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Abby attempts to get Gibbs out of his basement. Written for the GabbCollab Season 2.  
><strong>Warnings<strong>: None

**Author's Notes**: Thanks to AngelQueen for the beta! This is very short, but I hope you still enjoy it. Let me know.

* * *

><p>Gibbs heard the distinct sound of her heavy boots as they clomped across the kitchen floor. He had a pretty good idea as to why she was here. Remembering her words from earlier in the day brought a smile to his face.<p>

_"Oh, Gibbs. You really do need to get out of your basement more."_

Their relationship had started out as an immediate friendship, but had slowly warped into something so much more. It didn't take her long to get close to him, understand him in a way that usually took others many years to do, if they ever really did. His three ex-wives were proof to that. Light banter and teasing has taken up residence and the sexual tension had come to a boil. He was ready to take it the next step if she was and from all indications, she was. Rule Twelve be damned.

He had thought about playing hard to get. Make her work at getting him to move from his sanctuary, but he knew that wouldn't work. He _wanted_ her to succeed. He wanted _her_to become his sanctuary.

The wonderful smell of something cooking wafted over him, his stomach reminding him that it was empty of sustenance. Quickly, he put the bourbon away and placed the sander on the bench. Noticing the piece of cloth that was tied around his finger, staunching the bleeding from an earlier cut, gave him an idea. He hoped it would break the uneasy tension he knew would be there as she attempted to do something that everyone else had tried to do, but failed.

Gibbs ascended the stairs quietly and opened the door slowly, as not to scare her. The sweet aroma from what ever she brought went straight to his stomach, announcing his presence. Abby turned from where she was preparing a salad, leaned against the counter and flashed him a tentative, but beautiful, smile.

Nodding her head towards the stove, she said, "I hope you don't mind leftovers. It's my grandmother's Creole Chicken Gumbo Soup."

Gibbs walked slowly over to the stove and looked in the pot at the heating liquid. It smelled delicious. "I can eat."

Abby smiled again and turned to finish preparing the salad. Gibbs walked up behind her, his hands coming to rest on her hips, as he looked over her shoulder to watch her work. He felt her stiffen a moment at his proximity and then relax almost immediately, leaning back against his chest.

He paused a moment, closing his eyes, savoring in the moment of being able to get this close to her without worrying about what other people would think. This is actually a very intimate gesture on his part, a first for them both. He took the time to take in her distinctive scent. She smelled of lavender, gunpowder and something so uniquely intense that he knew it was hers and hers alone.

"How's the finger?" he asked, a mere whisper in her ear.

Abby held up her bandaged appendage. "Much better," she answered, her voice equally low and quivering slightly.

"Good, because I have a matching one that needs attention," he said, releasing his hold on her hip with his left hand, bring his injured finger close for her inspection.

Abby sighed and turned around so that she was facing him. She grabbed his finger and as she untied the cloth bandage, their eyes met. Without looking away, she brought his finger up to her lips and kissed it gently, almost reverently.

Gibbs felt his heart skip a beat. Those lips were everyman's dream of perfection, full of promise.

Abby let go of his finger, but he didn't drop it. Instead he gently traced the contour of her lips. He watched as her eyes slowly closed, her body trembling slightly. A moment went by and she didn't open her eyes, so he asked her to. He wanted her to watch as they shared their first of what he knew would be many kisses.

"Open your eyes, Abby."

Abby did and what he saw there blew him away. Love and desire, so overwhelming, shone in those beautiful, green emeralds. Slowly, he descended upon her until his lips tenderly landed on hers. The feeling was exquisite, just like he knew it would be. When he felt her move, seeking more, he hoped he wouldn't disappoint. He affectionately traced his tongue against her lips, seeking entrance.

Abby immediately opened for him and he slipped his tongue in to do a gentle dance with hers. They nipped, nibbled and stroked until he had to let go before he died from the lack of oxygen. Leaning his forehead against hers, he willed his breathing to slow down.

"God, Abbs," was all he could come up with, until his stomach once again made it clear that he hadn't had anything to eat.

Abby smirked and then gently pushed him away. "We better get you fed. I think you're going to need your strength later."

"Ya' think?" Gibbs asked saucily.

"Oh, I know," Abby responded, smiling a sexy, knowing smile.

Gibbs smiled back, glad that she had succeeded in her mission. Getting him out of the basement on her first attempt was ground breaking. Who would have thought?

_END_


	20. Red Cell, AforAntechinus

**Title: **Red Cell  
><strong>Author<strong>: A for Antechinus  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: _Red Cell_, season 2  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Post-case, Abby checks Gibbs' injuries over...

* * *

><p>Sighing in frustration, Gibbs puts down the chisel. He had hoped to work on his boat, yet the injuries were proving to halt his progress. Hearing the door above open and close, he decides that it's the end of trying to work.<p>

"Abby?" He calls out, as he climbs the stairs, hearing her boots moving around the rooms above him.

"Hey Gibbs" She replies smiling as she comes into his view, still in the clothes from work. Still in the too short skirt and low cut top.

"I was talking to Ducky, it sounded like you wouldn't be able to cook dinner so" She says whilst lifting up the Indian takeaway she is holding. Suddenly she realises where he has come from.

"You've been in the basement. Tell me you haven't been working on the boat". She says her eyes narrowing.

" Ducky mentioned that he said you shouldn't be. It's part of why I came here tonight, to feed you and to look after you." She continues talking.

He knows lying to her would be futile "I worked on the boat for a little bit, I'd just given up on it."

She squares her shoulders and stands just a bit taller.

"Ducky said you weren't supposed to" She said stepping closer.

"Ducky said I shouldn't if it hurt, some of the things I was doing didn't hurt" Gibbs protests.

"Right that's it, on the couch; I am checking your injuries.

Sitting with apprehension, of being so close to her, he tenses as Abby sits behind him. She moves her hands quickly and expertly. After only a few minutes she speaks up.

"You're lucky you haven't injured yourself further, we can have dinner now"

Gibbs breath's a sigh of relief as she gets up. Having her so close was making him realise how much of an effect she was having on him.

Once they are sitting at the table eating, they talk about anything and everything except the case. It's always been that way, since they first became friends. They have easily been able to talk, in this case the talking lasts beyond the meal.

"Want to watch a movie Gibbs?" Abby asks as they pack up the remains of the dinner.

He looks at her and shakes his head.

"Oh come on, I've got the perfect one" she adds smiling.

He looks at Abby and something gives.

"Okay" One thing he has learnt, is that for Abby he would do almost anything.

As the movie starts, Abby settles on the far end of the couch, within the first half hour, she's moved over and is snuggling into Gibbs. Although he may have moved closer as well, he's not quite sure.

"I'm glad you're safe Gibbs," She whispers as she settles into his side.

He doesn't reply, just moves his arm over her shoulders and kisses her lightly on the head.

As the movie draws to a close, Abby looks at the time.

I should get you to bed, than go. It's late."

Looking at the time he realise that it's after 11.

"It's okay Abbs, I can get myself into bed."

Yet Abby is insistent, following him up the stairs.

Whilst he is in the bathroom he gingerly tries to lift his shirt. As a twinge of pain sears up his shoulder, he grits his teeth, dammit Abby was right.

Walking out of the bathroom he sits on the bed as Abby motions for him to do. After she takes his shirt off, she returns her hands to his shoulders, running her hands down his body to where his tank top finishes. Sliding her hands under the top, and touching his back, he breathes in.

"Abby" He says her name in a low voice.

"You said you wanted me, before, how did you want me" She whispers in his ear, her voice has grown deeper.

"I needed your expert opinion" He replies, trying to hold onto the version he must keep.

"Mmmm" He can tell she doesn't believe him.

"So I've been reading our relationship wrong for the last few months then, there is no sexual tension." She replies after a moment.

"You're an attractive lady Abby, any man would flirt" He says trying to get himself out of this situation. Her hands are still moving over his back, making it harder for him to keep the lie.

"Yes but no one has ever told me they wanted me before" she whispers in his ear.

Gibbs breathes out a shaky breath.

"Abby, I've got a rule, we're co-workers. I've been married three times; I'm 20 years older than you"

"But I love you"

He closes his eyes and takes a breath. Suddenly Abby disappears. The temperature in the room seems to drop. Before he can properly look around, she is in front of him, sitting on the bed, her face only millimetres from him.

"Tell me you don't want me and I will go. I will pretend this never happened" She whispers, looking in his eyes.

He opens his mouth to speak, to say he doesn't, but with her looking at him, the words don't leave his mouth. He can't say it.

She leans in just a tiny bit.

"Gibbs, the exception proves the rule" She kisses him then.

There is a small part of his brain that is yelling at him to pull away, claim tiredness and kick her out. Yet the larger part, the more vocal part pulls her closer, wrapping his arms around her. As they break for breath, he looks in her eyes – they've gone a dark shade of green and he wonders how they survived this long. Kissing her again, he removes her top and then her skirt. Meanwhile her hands aren't idle either, his pants have come off. When he moves into her, they cry out, mumbling wordless cries until he comes, followed by Abby moment later with the help of his hand. Sliding next to her, she smiles at him and signs a single sign on his chest.

_I love you._

He forms the sign and presses it to her heart. She leans over and kisses him again, snuggling into his chest.

"I know you do Gibbs."

_END._


	21. Hometown Hero, ncislove

**Title**: Hometown Hero  
><strong>Author<strong>: ncislove  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Hometown Hero, season 2  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Gibbs feels bad that Abby had to miss her spa weekend with Kate

Gibbs watched as Abby moved around her lab, typing commands on the keyboard, the screens shutting down one by one and then moving to each of her machines. With a gentle touch and a whisper of thanks, she switched them off and prepared to go home. He was just about to make himself known when he caught her glance at a weekend bag situated beside her desk.

He felt guilty about making her miss her spa weekend with Kate. Abby worked more than all of his agents and if anyone needed a spa weekend, it was her. "Sorry," he spoke up, "sorry that you had to miss your spa appointments."

Abby startled and turned to face him, an easy smile on her face. "It's okay," she shrugged. "It's not like I can't go some other time. I'm just glad we got the case solved. Is Tony still crying about his car?"

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "He's suckered McGee into taking him to a bar to buy him a drink. I think he'll survive."

"But we'll never hear the end of it…" Abby headed toward her office and shrugged out of her lab coat, slipping into a black hoodie instead. "You headed out soon, Gibbs?"

He hadn't planned on leaving any time soon, but found himself asking if she was interested in grabbing a late dinner.

Abby looked at him a moment before nodding. "I'd like that."

"Come up to the squad room so I can grab my stuff and then we'll head out. Any place you'd like to go?" Together they headed for the elevator.

"Does Café Gibbs have steaks on the menu?"

Gibbs didn't even try to fight a smile. "Sure does."

"Does it have anything green to go with it?"

Gibbs thought back to a few nights prior when he tossed out the contents of the veggie drawer in his fridge, the lettuce wilted and brown. "Not so sure."

"I'll swing by the grocery store and get something for a salad, you get the steaks started?"

"Perfect." Gibbs grabbed a few things from his desk – his badge, gun and jacket and together they headed for the parking garage.

* * *

><p>The warmth of the fire was the first thing she noticed when she stepped inside Gibbs' house, a large grocery bag in hand. Gibbs was sitting on the coffee table, tending to the steaks with a serious look on his face.<p>

"Wow, looks like some intense work," she laughed, "I'll just toss together a salad real quick." She carried the items through to the kitchen and grabbed the items she needed.

She was still chopping vegetables when Gibbs carried a plate with two steaks in. He took a moment to admire her smooth strokes as she chopped with well-practiced ease all while telling him that Kate had called and they had been able to reschedule their weekend at the spa. He could easily see the tension in her shoulders, and without thinking, he set the plate with the meat on the counter and stepped up behind her to work out the knots he found.

"You really are tense, Abbs."

Abby stalled for a moment, taking in the feel of his large, firm hands as they zeroed in on her tense muscles. "Mmm, you've no idea," she stretched her head to the side and groaned when his thumb pressed harder.

She finished up the salad, but made no effort to move away. "Salad is ready."

Gibbs continued to work her muscles for a long minute and then ran his hands slowly down her arms. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her head. "Let's eat and then I'll keep working on some of those knots. I don't know how you can move with muscles like that."

* * *

><p>"You're really quiet," Gibbs commented halfway through their meal.<p>

"A little tired, but mostly just relaxed. You're really good with your hands. And to think I thought Jimmy had skills…"

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow, "You let just anyone on the Navy Yard give you a rubdown?"

Abby's fork paused halfway between her plate and her mouth. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't-" Gibbs sighed, he hadn't meant it to sound so derogatory or insinuate anything.

Abby knew he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings to she let it slide and turned it back around to him. "Didn't know you were jealous."

"I'm not." He wasn't, was he?

"Hmm, because I can't think of any other reason you would care that _Jimmy Palmer _was giving me a massage."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and ignored the inner panic as he realized that maybe he _was_ jealous that Palmer had given her a massage. "Just don't let DiNozzo get involved, otherwise we're all going to be sent to a sexual harassment seminar again."

"If Tony wants to give me a massage, I'm not saying no. He's got strong hands too, though I doubt as strong as yours. I always thought that boat building was a little odd, but that's how your hands got so strong, isn't it?"

Gibbs didn't blush, but he could feel the tips of his ears heating up. It wasn't easy, but he managed to change the subject, not wanting to dwell on why exactly he was jealous. He couldn't exactly see Abby and Jimmy together – Tony, however, he could see. But since Jimmy had already gotten his hands on her, that's who he felt the need to glare at.

Eventually they cleaned up and moved to the sofa to enjoy the fire he had made. Gibbs was finally feeling relaxed when Abby sat forward and scooted to the edge of the couch. "Move your knees." She pushed his knees apart and then sat on the floor in front of him, between his legs. With a smile she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Now you can finish what you started."

Gibbs sat forward and pressed his thumbs to either side of her neck and bit back a groan when her head fell forward and she moaned. Neither spoke as he continued to work her tense muscles, along her neck and out to her shoulders. As he worked down the side of her neck with the spider web tattoo, she tilted her head to the side and rested her ear against his thigh giving him a good view of the tattoo.

Taking a break from the massage, Gibbs traced over the spider with a finger and then circled around the web. "Did this hurt?"

"Mm, a little. Hurt more the next day. Every time I turned my head… took a few days before I could move comfortably," she said. She wrapped her hand around Gibbs' shin and closed her eyes as his fingers continued to circle the lines of the web.

"What'd Jimmy think of the tattoo?"

Abby was quiet at moment, wondering if she was reading too much into his comment. "You don't have to be jealous of Jimmy, I'm not in love with him," she said softly.

"Then who are you in love with?" His fingers paused as he let the question sink in.

"Does it matter?" She glanced back over her shoulder at him.

Gibbs used his thumb to trace from her ear, down along her jaw. "Makes a big difference." When Abby didn't answer right away, Gibbs shifted her forward away from him and moved his leg over her to get up. "You should probably get going. It's getting late."

Abby scrambled to her feet and grabbed his arm before he could get too far. "Gibbs wait," she stepped to him, her eyes cast downward. "I just don't want to say something you'd rather I didn't."

"Abbs, nothing will change-"

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Gibbs tilted her chin upward so that she was looking at him. "I meant that whatever you say, I will still love you." He leaned in to brush his lips softly against hers. "Whoever it that you love."

"You." She pushed up on her toes to return the kiss. "It's always been you."

* * *

><p>End.<p> 


	22. Sealed With A Kiss, SWAK, miss4nschik

**Title:** _Sealed With A Kiss_

**Author:** miss4nschik  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> "SWAK" (S02E22)

**Summary:** _When Gibbs said he had never received a love letter Abby felt sorry for him and a few days later she decides to do something about it..._

* * *

><p>She couldn't make her mind up.<p>

Sitting with the white envelope in a firm grip in her hand, she looked across the street at Gibbs' house.

He wasn't home, she knew that.

She had actually double checked that he was indeed still at the Navy Yard when she made her way over to his house. But once she got here... she couldn't decide whether this really was such a good idea anymore. What if he didn't appreciate it?

"Abigail, you're being stupid. You haven't even signed it! He won't know for sure that it's from you.", she bit her lower lip and looked at the envelope, "And you're talking to yourself again."

She sighed. Annoyed with herself.

What if it would create some kind of a weird awkwardness between them? She'd hate that.  
>But... it wasn't like she had written everything she could have. Just a few little things that she hoped would make him smile. Sweet nothings, that was all.<p>

Like, how much she loved his blue eyes. How amazing his smile really was. How she admired his determination, honesty and loyalty. How she found his fit body attractive, how she loved his hands, his strong arms... How he knew just the things to say...  
>Sure, she knew that everyone wouldn't exactly agree with her but he had always been a great friend to her. And she loved him for it.<br>Nothing in this letter was anything to be worried about. Definitively nothing to be this very worried about. Especially not when you've signed it with "from a secret admirer...".

The plan was to go into his house and leave the letter at his kitchen table or somewhere. Maybe on the coffeemaker? There he'd find it for sure.  
>But maybe it would be too much of a give-away as to whom the sender was if she went inside? Maybe she should just drop it in his mailbox. Boring, yes, but it would be enough.<p>

Besides, any "secret admirer" that didn't know him like Abby did surely wouldn't go inside when he wasn't home.

Unless they were scary stalkers of course.

"Come on, Abigail, man up! You're being really silly here.".

Determination kicked in and she quickly got out of her red car and crossed the street.

She admired the letter for a moment before she put it into the mailbox. She really felt quite happy with it. The calligraphy in black ink looked beautiful on the front. She had done a very good job on it, she complimented herself. After practicing so many times she had filled a paper with only the words "Leroy", "Jethro" and "Gibbs" she would've been a mess if she had not got it looking amazing. She flipped over to the back and smiled. The red SWAK on the back was absolutely perfect.

She brought the letter briefly up to her lips again, smiled to herself and dropped the letter in the box. When she turned around and began to make her way back to her car, another car coming down the street flashed its lights at her. She threw her arm up at the blinding light and stopped in her tracks. The car turned into Gibbs' parking space.

"Dang.", she hoped he hadn't seen her doing what she had just done. Knowing that she couldn't just run away now, she stood in front of the wooden gate and waited for Gibbs to come and ask her what she was doing here, which he most likely would. Most definitively would. But what to say? There was no more time to think about it.

"Hi Gibbs!", she greeted him as he came walking up to her.

"Hey Abby", even if he seemed surprised, he did look like he was happy to see her, "whatcha doing here?".

"I was...", she started, searching through her mind for something that wouldn't sound too hinky to say, "eh, you know, in the neighborhood and I was getting hungry and I wondered if maybe you'd like to try out that new Chinese place down the road?".

Then she noticed the bag with take-away food he was carrying. "But I see you're already set so I'm gonna go there now and find something for myself. Bye Gibbs! See you tomorrow!", she took off towards her car.

"Abs!", he lifted the white bag ,"I'm pretty sure there's enough in here to feed us both. Stay. Eat. Would be nice to have company."

She hesitated. "You sure?"

He didn't answer, just gave her a look that said "come on, are you kidding me?" and continued to walk to the door.

She really would like to stay... and she really was hungry... so she walked after him.

When she closed the door she couldn't resist glancing at the mailbox which he had just walked by. She couldn't tell if that was a feeling of relief or a disappointment but still, it meant that she'd be able to eat and relax and she would already be gone when he'd see it.  
>The main idea was after all that he wouldn't know for sure that it was from her, even if he'd probably suspect her. If she was here when he found the letter he would probably ask her if she knew anything about it and she wouldn't be able to fool him.<p>

She never could lie to him.

Not even pretend.

He would know straight away if she wasn't telling the truth, the entire truth and nothing but the truth...

While she put her things in the armchair by the door, Gibbs fetched plates and beers from the kitchen. He hadn't been joking when he said there'd be enough food for two, Abby thought as she took up all the containers out of the bag. She was sure they could've even invited Tony for this meal! Not that she was complaining, not at all, it was all good.

"Is this your version of grocery shopping, Gibbs?". He just cocked his head, neither confirming nor denying, causing her to giggle.

"Try not to pour it all out on me this time.", he teased when he handed her one of the bottles, smirking when he saw her reaction, how the green eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Hey! That was... I was... I tripped!"

"Right...", he nodded and took a sip of his beer before sitting down by the table.

"Yes! And you know it. Besides, it was my birthday so you really shouldn't blame me."

"It wasn't passed midnight so technically it wasn't your birthday yet."

"Semantics, Gibbs, semantics. It was my birthday that was the occasion anyway. And it was lovely, thank you.".

"Anytime.". The look he gave her had such warmth that she almost forgot why she was there, she just wanted to drown in those blue eyes... but when her stomach grumbled so loud even Gibbs heard it, it was well time to get those chop-sticks working.

* * *

><p>Conversation came easily. The talk mostly concerned work but they took a few turns into science when Abby mentioned some things she'd read. Then they came to talk about Tony, who was still and who should still recuperate at home for at least a few days more.<p>

It had been a horrible two days with the nightmare starting when Tony opened that letter. First not knowing what to do, then not knowing if it was all too late, then just waiting...

She leaned back in her chair, quietly sipping her beer. He silently watched her from opposite the table and could see that something was on her mind. So he waited.

Even though she tried to sound normal he could hear sadness in her voice when she spoke up,  
>"I don't think anyone would be as impatient and downright pushy as you were if it would've been me..."<p>

Leaning back in his own chair, stretching his back slightly, he took in her words.

Honestly, he was surprised that she thought so. He'd think there'd be a line full of people that would do anything for her.

"Not even McGee? Thought you two were still...?"

She looked up.

"Oh no no, we're not. Just friends. I don't doubt he'd try but McGee is more likely to be the one ending up at the hospital with me than being the one coming to my rescue.", she said with a bit of her usual spark in her eyes. He smirked at her comment.

Seeing that he was amused made her smile. She loved that smirk. And his loop-sided grins. They had been getting rarer lately, ever since that terrorist had first appeared.

He turned serious again and looked her right in the eyes.

"I would.", he made a nod as to really accentuate the meaning of his words.

She smiled. "I feel safer already.".

He followed her to her car, even though he didn't have to, and he waited until she was well on her way before he returned inside. She saw him for a while in the rear-view mirror but when she had to turn he was still in the street so she had no idea if he checked his mail or not.  
>She hoped he would.<p>

She felt as one does when giving someone a gift and you just can't wait to know if they liked it or not. But it wasn't like she could call him later and ask.

"Hey Gibbs, have you got something interesting in the post lately?", she laughed at herself and settled for being patient.

Maybe he'd bring it to her to check for fingerprints in the morning?

* * *

><p>When she got home it was getting close to 11 PM and she still couldn't stop thinking of Gibbs and the dinner and their talks... And wondering whether of not he had read her letter... It had been a nice evening. She was glad she had stayed, glad that he had wanted her to.<p>

She changed into one of her pj's with skulls on and started to get ready for bed, even though she'd probably stay up several hours more. As usual. She washed off the make-up and brushed her teeth.

Before heading for the bedroom she went to the hallway to double-check that the door was properly locked. It was as it should be so she turned around to go, but as she started walking there was a knock on the door that made her jump. She stopped, thinking maybe she was just imagining things. But it knocked again. It was quiet, gentle knocks but there was no mistaking that someone was indeed making them. On her door.

She quietly stepped back up to the door and looked through the peephole.  
>"Oh my god."<p>

It was him. The man of her thoughts. Gibbs. Standing right outside her door.

"Talk about gimme gimme a man after midnight...", she giggled.

She took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Gibbs!", he held up her letter so that she could see it but she did her best not to give herself away, "What are-".

More she didn't have time to say before her mouth was covered by his. The amount of feelings that bombarded her senses made her head spin. He was kissing her!  
>Holding on to him she gasped for air and let the initial shock to her system fade out. She wasn't really sure what was going on, feeling this was too surreal to be real, she caught his gaze to at least try to read his thoughts... but when she saw no trace of worry or hesitation in his eyes, only a deep beautiful blue and something else she couldn't put a finger on but she knew she had never seen before, any trace of her own hesitation quickly vaporized... and she sought out his lips again.<p>

She stepped back, pulling him with her and he used a foot to kick the door to close behind them.

When the kiss naturally came to a stop, they stood still, just holding each other. He stroked her back gently and she rested her head against his shoulder, hiding her face in the crock of his neck. Closing her eyes she tried to understand that this was happening.

She leaned back so she could face him again, a question gnawing on her mind. "What gave me away?"

He smirked and leaned down to press his forehead against hers.  
>"You called me your 'silver-haired fox'."<p>

"Oh.", she smiled coyly, realizing that she had indeed overlooked that when she read through the letter. "Doesn't all women call you that?"

A short laugh that warmed her heart escaped him and that smile that she loved so much already made another appearance. "No, I wouldn't say that. Most women tend to call me something else."

"Something that starts with a 'B'?"

"Uhuh."

"Bad-ass?"

"That too.", and then he kissed her again.

_~ end ~_


	23. Dreams Come True, Twilight, gosgirl

**Dreams Come True**

Author: Gosgirl  
>Rating: T<br>Pairing: Abby/Gibbs  
>Category: Romancefriendship  
>Spoilers: Season 2, Twilight<br>Summary: Episode tag to Twilight, written for the Gabby Collaboration Project.  
>AN: Big hugs to Gibbsredhoodie for her help and head slaps.

* * *

><p>Abby wasn't sure what woke her from a fitful sleep.<p>

Maybe he wasn't his usual stealthy self if his knee was still bothering him, or perhaps he was more tired than he would admit and had made more noise? Or maybe that feather light touch she'd felt on her hair wasn't her imagination?

Whatever the reason, as some sixth sense or her Gibbs-o-meter brought her awake, Abby heard the soft rustle of someone carefully shifting position nearby. The distinctive smell of coffee overlaid with sawdust told her who it was before she became alarmed and she turned over slowly on her futon, eyes widening as she registered the presence of a large hand resting on a meaty thigh close to her head.

Her eyes ran up the shirt-sleeved figure, over the corded forearms, broad shoulders and strong neck to his face, which looked drawn and tired, his silver hair gleaming in the soft light seeping in from her lab. Gibbs was sitting on the floor next to her futon, his head resting back against the cabinet by her desk. His eyes were closed but she could sense he wasn't asleep.

"Hey."

His eyes opened and she could make out their gleam as he looked down at her. "Hey."

"What are you doing here, Gibbs? I mean I know what you're doing _here_ as in here in the building but why are you here in my lab?"

Why wasn't he upstairs in the bullpen with the rest of the team? But it gave her a warm fuzzy feeling to think that he'd sought out her lab, had chosen to sit down here with her for whatever rest he'd planned on getting tonight instead of at his desk.

Typically, Gibbs chose not to answer her question. "Didn't mean to wake ya. Could ask ya the same thing. Why ya still here?"

Abby struggled to sit up, shifting to sit back against the filing cabinet next to him, feeling his hand on her arm as he helped her up. She scrubbed her hands over her face and through her hair, loose from its pigtails, and massaging her scalp. "It's okay... I was only dozing."

"You shoulda gone home."

"Uh-huh. You mean like everyone else has done?" She turned her head to look at him, suddenly conscious how close they were. "Last time I looked, the bullpen was full of snoring agents."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, his mouth quirking. "Told 'em to go home too... does no one follow orders anymore?"

"Not when they're worried about their Boss, no," she countered.

He ignored that too and repeated his question. "Why ya still here?"

Abby looked away from his piercing gaze, afraid of what he might see in her eyes. "I'm worried about my Boss too... and my friend. That gives me an even better excuse to be here."

"Nothing you can do."

Her head snapped round at his almost dismissive tone. "That's not true, Gibbs... I'm here where I'm needed most. Who knows what evidence may come through that door any moment? So you need me here, Gibbs, not at my apartment. Besides, what would I do at home? Wear a groove in my floor, worrying about you... about all of you. You're gonna have to throw me out of the building if you wanna get rid of me."

_And I don't wanna leave in case I never see you again._

Abby remembered all too vividly how Gibbs behaved the last time Ari was in town; how his obsession had driven him and them to the point of exhaustion.

This time he seemed almost eerily calm about the whole thing.

She thought Tony had a point that Gibbs was like this because he was looking forward to getting a chance to finally kill Ari. But given what had happened today, attempts by the two men to finish this whatever it was between them were currently running at two nil in Ari's favour.

They were dangerously into 'three strikes and you're out' territory. And that scared the crap out of her.

Abby felt Gibbs take her hand and looked down as he rubbed a thumb across her knuckles, distracted by the feel of his skin. "Not gonna throw ya out, Abbs."

"And no more sneaking out, you hear me? If necessary, I can drug your coffee so you don't go off again without the team on your six," she mustered a small smile but she was only half joking.

Gibbs huffed a soft laugh. "Oh, don't think Kate'd let me sneak out now."

"And nor should she." Abby twisted sideways to face him, hanging onto his hand, watching his gaze drop to their joined hands where they rested on her knees. "We nearly lost everyone today and if Tony hadn't seen that bomb, McGee and Kate would be dead right now... and _Tony_, he shouldn't even be here, he's still sick... and then you had to go and get yourself nearly blown up this evening. So that's twice... in one day, which is a record even for you."

Her voice cracked and she broke off, almost choking with emotion as the thought of nearly losing him again washed over her. She accepted his job was dangerous and she lived with that every day. He'd come close to being killed more times than she cared to count, but it didn't make it any easier to cope with every time it happened.

One day his luck was going to run out, or he was going to throw his life away… and it was an evens bet which one would come first.

"But we weren't." Now he had his 'you're overreacting, calm down Abbs' voice on and if anything, it made her angrier.

"But you could have been. And _then…_ then you go and break Rule 3." She held up her finger as Gibbs made to speak. "And yes, I know your ringer _thingy_ got turned off but if one of us had done that, you'd have head slapped us into next week. We're worried about you, Gibbs. You've got that look in your eye."

Gibbs raised his eyebrow. "What look?"

"That look." Abby pointed, narrowing her eyes. "That, I'm going off grid the first chance I get and I'm really looking forward to finally killing Ari and to hell with the consequences, look."

"Maybe I am." She saw his jaw tighten and his eyes harden. "That bastard's played us enough."

"That doesn't mean it's worth your life, Gibbs," she told him softly.

Gibbs shrugged. "Sounds like a fair exchange."

His words were like a physical blow and she swallowed hard before she could trust her voice again. "Gibbs, I...I can't believe you just said that."

That is what scared her more than anything this time round; his almost cavalier attitude to sacrificing himself if it meant he took Ari with him.

When Gibbs remained silent, just staring at her with an unreadable expression, Abby went on, wondering how best to get him to see how scared she was, what it meant to her to have him safe.

How she was convinced she couldn't live without him in her life.

She gripped his hand tightly and was momentarily heartened to feel him squeeze back. "You keep everyone else safe, but you always put yourself last on that list of people to protect. And you talk as if your life means nothing, Gibbs, as if it wouldn't matter if you weren't here."

He averted his gaze, staring off into the middle distance for long moments before she saw him nod slightly, almost to himself, before turning back to her. "If it means I take Ari out..."

Abby interrupted, dropping his hand and rearing back, shaking her head. "No! No, Gibbs. That makes it sounds like you've already resigned yourself to dying... as if it's okay to just throw your life away."

"Abby. Let me finish. Was gonna say if it means I take Ari out, I could live with that," Gibbs pressed a finger to her lips to shush her as she opened her mouth to rush in again. "But I'm not planning on throwing my life away, 'kay?"

Abby examined his eyes seriously, trying to read his face and eventually nodded. "Okay. But remember we need you to stay safe, Gibbs... I need you to stay safe."

Gibbs stared at her for a moment. "I'll do my best."

She held his gaze, figuring it was all she'd get from this stubborn man for now. "Okay then."

Gibbs sat back and she wasn't surprised when he changed the subject. "You need to rest, Abbs. You're no good to me if you're so tired you can't think straight."

"Hey pot, meet kettle." She waved her hand and was rewarded with a slight smile. "Not even you can keep going on just coffee and willpower forever. You need sleep as much as I do... more if you're going after Ari."

As he nodded and went to lean his head back against the cabinet, Abby nudged his leg, wondering if she was about to make things more awkward. "C'mon, we can share... or were you planning on sitting on your butt all night? Your back's gonna love you by morning if you do that. This futon's big enough for both of us and we're adults."

She couldn't decipher the look on his face for a moment before it was gone behind a smirk as he tilted his head. "Okay, okay... stop nagging, woman."

"Oh, I haven't even started yet. Okay then... I'll take this side, if that's okay? Which side do you normally take, Gibbs? Although I guess you prefer the one nearest the door, right?"

Abby heard herself babbling as she shuffled over to one side of the futon. Gibbs shifted to unclip his holster and place it next to his folded jacket on the floor, but within reach. She lay there watching, hyper aware of his every movement, tensing as his arm brushed hers when he settled on his back beside her, using his jacket as a pillow.

Physical contact between them wasn't unusual but they were both usually upright at the time. This felt far more intimate in the quiet darkness of her lab and she had to curb the immediate urge to curl into his side and throw her arms round him.

"I could always lend you Bert as a pillow?"

"Nah, I'm good." Gibbs chuckled and turned his head and she found herself staring into mesmerising blue eyes, his mouth mere inches away. She almost felt his eyes roam over her face and something in his expression made her heart pound, his nearness as intoxicating as his scent.

He was so close... too close for her to think straight. Too close for anything other than feeling an aching need to be held.

He turned on his side and his hand came over to brush a strand of hair off her face and she shivered at the tender touch as his fingers lingered to sign _'my girl'_ on her cheek. "Go to sleep, Abbs."

Gibbs rolled onto his back and Abby watched his profile for a moment before stretching her own hand out to rest on the arm nearest her, feeling the rough hairs and warm skin of his forearm underneath her fingers. She took a deep shaky breath, wondering if she was about to screw up big time. "Can I… can I use you as a pillow?"

"You abandoning Bert?" She saw his eyes gleaming with amusement as his head turned towards her.

Abby chuckled, grateful for him trying to defuse the tension which virtually vibrated in the air. "He can take it. I just… I think I need a hug."

Gibbs stared at her for a moment before holding out his arms. "C'mere," he murmured, his voice so low and gravely it made her toes curl.

She needed no further urging and shuffled closer to burrow into his arms, resting her head on his chest, feeling his own arms come round to wrap her up tightly and a kiss pressed to her hair.

Abby felt herself relaxing, almost sinking into him as she slid an arm round his waist, the calming thud of his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breathing under her ear almost lulling her to sleep.

"You make a good pillow," she murmured drowsily after a few minutes, and his husky chuckle made her shiver as much from the tone as the arrogant confidence behind the words.

"So I've been told."

* * *

><p>"NO!"<p>

Abby shot bolt upright, wrenching herself out of his arms and waking herself with her own cry, shocked out of sleep by the images from her nightmare. Startled as he must have been, Gibbs was quickly beside her, his gun in his hand as he rolled to his knees.

As she became aware of her surroundings again, Abby wrapped her arms round her knees, her face buried in them and shoulders hunched as she tried to control her breathing and banish the pictures in her head.

She felt a hand on her back and gasped, her breathing harsh and she heard his concerned voice and the sound of him putting his gun down. "Abbs... you okay?"

Abby focused on the sound of his voice and the warmth of his hand and gradually her breathing slowed. She turned to him, virtually throwing herself at him and Gibbs grunted as they tumbled back onto the futon. "Oh my god... Gibbs, Gibbs... are you okay?" She grabbed his face, frantic to see him more clearly in the dim light.

"Hey... I'm fine, Abbs... where's the fire?" He grabbed her hands, stilling her movements. "Hey... just breathe."

Her heart was still pounding and she shuddered on her next breath as she buried her head against his chest, pulling her hands free to clutch at him tightly. "I just... I'm okay. I'm sorry I woke you. Did you sleep okay… well, at least till the whole wrenching you from the depths of sleep bit, I'll grant you that one."

It must have been near dawn as the darkness outside wasn't quite so absolute, so they must have slept for a while.

"Slept fine, Abbs." He was silent for a long moment but she knew he wouldn't leave it alone. "Wanna tell me about it?"

She shrugged, trying to burrow closer. "It's just... it was just a nightmare, Gibbs."

"Yeah, I got that part. What about? Your autopsy dream again?" His hand stroked through her hair slowly, almost cradling her head to his chest, his other hand rubbing her back gently.

Abby swiped roughly at her eyes, trying to clear her blurred vision, momentarily distracted. "I'm crying... Why am I crying? I never cry." She shook herself, fisting a hand in his shirt front as she raised her head to look at him. "I saw _Tony_... and his face was covered in blood and I... I couldn't see anyone else but I thought it was _your_ blood, Gibbs."

Gibbs frowned. "Why mine?"

"Because, Gibbs, Tony's always got your back. So if Tony's somewhere out in the field, then it usually means you're not far away... so I guess my brain made the jump that it could have been yourblood." She pressed her face into his chest again. "I hate dreams like that."

His hands slid down her back and she felt his arms tighten round her. "Hey, I'm fine. I'm right here."

"I know." Abby squeezed him tightly, feeling slightly foolish for making a fuss.

But there was no reproach in his voice as he pressed his nose into her hair. "It's just a dream. Dreams don't come true. With Ari on your mind, you've worried yourself into it when there's no need."

Now her initial panic had subsided, she was becoming acutely aware of the feel of the hard body underneath her, the strong arms holding her, aware of every breath he took.

"No need, huh? Well, too late, Gibbs. Bad dreams or not, I am worried, you know that. That ship has sailed and is already halfway across the ocean." She raised her head again to meet his gaze, unable to stop herself placing her palm on his cheek and her stomach flip-flopped as he leaned into her touch. "I can't lose you. I just can't... it would kill me," she whispered softly.

She felt pinned in place by the intensity of his stare. And she was so tired of denying her feelings for this man, of trying to pretend she felt nothing beyond friendship. Of ignoring the crackle of attraction that had been there between them from the beginning.

She knew he was aware of it too, she'd seen it in his eyes but didn't know if he felt something stronger. But if she was about to lose him, she wanted Gibbs to know how she felt about him.

"Promise me you'll be careful, Gibbs, and come back safe. You must..." Her voice faltered as another tear spilled over and he wiped it gently away with his thumb, his hand lingering to stroke her cheek.

"Abbs..."

"No, don't you Abbs me... promise me, Gibbs, please. Pinky promise." She held up her hand.

His mouth quirked in a half smile and Abby saw his eyes soften and her heart raced at the look on his eyes, aching to lean in and taste him. When Gibbs hooked his finger around hers and solemnly 'shook' on it, she took her courage in both hands and tugged slightly on his hand, bending forward at the same time.

A split second before she kissed him, Abby saw his surprise but then her mouth brushed his lightly and all she could think about was how soft his lips were.

She concentrated on the feel of his mouth and not on the possible ruin of their friendship from her actions. But before she could start to panic, Abby felt him respond, his lips moving under hers, kissing her back with a tender, almost feather light touch as his hand slid into her hair.

The kiss lingered, lips tugging, clinging, neither going too far, just learning and savouring the taste and feel of each other.

When Abby pulled back reluctantly, she gazed down at him, tracing her fingers along his jawline. His blue eyes were warm and a smile was beginning to tug at the corner of his lips and she saw his gaze drop to her own mouth. She couldn't help smiling back in relief, lowering herself back onto his front to press her face into his neck, inhaling deeply as she felt his arms anchor round her back.

She heard his breathing hitch as she kissed his neck softly, nuzzling into him and smiled to herself. She'd done that... turned his breathing shallow and unsteady.

Abby pressed light kisses along his jawline, whispering against his warm skin, "Promise me you'll try to stay alive… try to stay with me. Say the words, Gibbs. I need to hear it."

She felt Gibbs cup her cheek and tilt her face up, and saw the heat in his eyes just before his mouth was on hers again, teasing her lips apart, tasting, claiming, possessing as he took control of the kiss.

Abby moaned into his mouth, lost in the sensual dance of wet tongues and warm, nibbling lips as he made her head spin. She speared her fingers into his hair, registering the softness of the silver strands as she scraped her nails lightly over his scalp, smiling into his mouth at the low growl in his throat her actions provoked.

They were both breathing heavily by the time the kiss ended and Gibbs rested his forehead against hers as he murmured. "I'll be careful, Abbs. Got a reason to be now."

The end.


End file.
